| Title: | "Silencing the Olfactory Co-Receptor RferOrco Reduces the Response to Pheromones in the Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus" |
| Author(s): | Soffan A; Antony B; Abdelazim M; Shukla P; Witjaksono W; Aldosari SA; Aldawood AS; |
| Address: | "King Saud University, Chair of Date Palm Research, Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Gadjah Mada University, Plant Protection Department, College of Agriculture, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia. King Saud University, Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia" |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0162203 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The red palm weevil (RPW, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), one of the most widespread of all invasive insect pest species, is a major cause of severe damage to economically important palm trees. RPW exhibits behaviors very similar to those of its sympatric species, the Asian palm weevil (R. vulneratus), which is restricted geographically to the southern part of Southeast Asia. Although efficient and sustainable control of these pests remains challenging, olfactory-system disruption has been proposed as a promising approach for controlling palm weevils. Here, we report the cloning and sequencing of an olfactory co-receptor (Orco) from R. ferrugineus (RferOrco) and R. vulneratus (RvulOrco) and examine the effects of RferOrco silencing (RNAi) on odorant detection. RferOrco and RvulOrco encoding 482 amino acids showing 99.58% identity. The injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) from RferOrco into R. ferrugineus pupae significantly reduced RferOrco gene expression and led to the failure of odor-stimulus detection, as confirmed through olfactometer and electroantennography (EAG) assays. These results suggest that olfactory-system disruption leading to reduced pheromone detection holds great potential for RPW pest-control strategies" |
| Keywords: | "Amino Acid Sequence Animals Arthropod Antennae/drug effects/metabolism Cloning, Molecular Gene Silencing/*drug effects Insect Proteins/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism Likelihood Functions Organ Specificity/drug effects/genetics Pheromones/*pharmacology Phy;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineSoffan, Alan Antony, Binu Abdelazim, Mahmoud Shukla, Paraj Witjaksono, Witjaksono Aldosari, Saleh A Aldawood, Abdulrahman S eng 2016/09/09 PLoS One. 2016 Sep 8; 11(9):e0162203. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162203. eCollection 2016" |
