| Title: | Pheromone Receptor Knock-Out Affects Pheromone Detection and Brain Structure in a Moth |
| Author(s): | Koutroumpa F; Monsempes C; Anton S; Francois MC; Montagne N; Jacquin-Joly E; |
| Address: | "Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, INRAE, Sorbonne Universite, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Universite de Paris, 78000 Versailles, France. INRAE, Universite de Tours, ISP, 37380 Nouzilly, France. Institute for Genetics, Environment and Plant Protection, INRAE, Institut Agro, Universite Rennes 1, 49045 Angers, France" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2218-273X (Electronic) 2218-273X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Sex pheromone receptors are crucial in insects for mate finding and contribute to species premating isolation. Many pheromone receptors have been functionally characterized, especially in moths, but loss of function studies are rare. Notably, the potential role of pheromone receptors in the development of the macroglomeruli in the antennal lobe (the brain structures processing pheromone signals) is not known. Here, we used CRISPR-Cas9 to knock-out the receptor for the major component of the sex pheromone of the noctuid moth Spodoptera littoralis, and investigated the resulting effects on electrophysiological responses of peripheral pheromone-sensitive neurons and on the structure of the macroglomeruli. We show that the inactivation of the receptor specifically affected the responses of the corresponding antennal neurons did not impact the number of macroglomeruli in the antennal lobe but reduced the size of the macroglomerulus processing input from neurons tuned to the main pheromone component. We suggest that this mutant neuroanatomical phenotype results from a lack of neuronal activity due to the absence of the pheromone receptor and potentially reduced neural connectivity between peripheral and antennal lobe neurons. This is the first evidence of the role of a moth pheromone receptor in macroglomerulus development and extends our knowledge of the different functions odorant receptors can have in insect neurodevelopment" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Brain/metabolism *Moths/genetics Pheromones Receptors, Pheromone/genetics/metabolism *Sex Attractants/physiology CRISPR/Cas9 Spodoptera littoralis macroglomerular complex pheromone receptor;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineKoutroumpa, Fotini Monsempes, Christelle Anton, Sylvia Francois, Marie-Christine Montagne, Nicolas Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Switzerland 2022/03/26 Biomolecules. 2022 Feb 22; 12(3):341. doi: 10.3390/biom12030341" |
