Transcriptomics reveal the molecular underpinnings of chemosensory proteins in Chlorops oryzae

Lin Qiu,Youzhi Li,Hualiang He,Wenbing Ding,Shunjie Tao

doi:10.1186/s12864-018-5315-4

Lin Qiu, Youzhi Li + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-018-5315-4

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Abstract

BackgroundChemosensory proteins are a family of insect-specific chemical sensors that sense specific chemical cues and regulate insect behavior. Chemosensory proteins have been identified and analyzed in many insect species, such as Drosophila melanogaster, Bactrocera dorsalis and Calliphora stygia. This research has revealed that these proteins play a crucial role in insect orientation, predation and oviposition. However, little is known about the chemosensory proteins of Chlorops oryzae, a major pest of rice crops throughout Asia.ResultsComparative transcription analysis of the genes of Chlorops oryzae larvae, pupae and adults identified a total of 104 chemosensory genes, including 25 odorant receptors (ORs), 26 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 19 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 23 gustatory receptors (GRs) and 11 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). The sequences of these candidate chemosensory genes were confirmed and used to construct phylogenetic trees. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed that the expression of candidate OR genes in different developmental stages was consistent with the fragments per kilobase per million fragments (FPKM) values of differentially expressed genes (DEGs).ConclusionsThe identification of chemosensory genes in C. oryzae provides a foundation for the investigation of the function of chemosensory proteins in this species, which, in turn, could allow the development of new, improved methods of controlling this pest.

Highlights

Chemosensory proteins are a family of insect-specific chemical sensors that sense specific chemical cues and regulate insect behavior
Expressed genes (DEGs) The expression levels of chemosensory genes in larvae, pupae and adults were estimated as fragments per kilobase per million fragments (FPKM) values and the results shown in a heatmap (Fig. 6)
We identified 25 C. oryzae Odorant receptor (OR), less than those identified in C. stygia, G. morsitans morsitans, D. melanogaster, M. domestica and A. gambiae [32, 34,35,36]

Summary

Introduction

Chemosensory proteins are a family of insect-specific chemical sensors that sense specific chemical cues and regulate insect behavior. This research has revealed that these proteins play a crucial role in insect orientation, predation and oviposition. Little is known about the chemosensory proteins of Chlorops oryzae, a major pest of rice crops throughout Asia. Olfactory and gustatory systems play crucial roles in insect orientation, oviposition, host-identification, mate choice and predator avoidance [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs), sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) and odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs) play an important role in regulating host behavior [1, 17, 28, 29]

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