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Curr Biol

Title:		The Molecular Basis of Host Selection in a Crucifer-Specialized Moth
Author(s):		Liu XL; Zhang J; Yan Q; Miao CL; Han WK; Hou W; Yang K; Hansson BS; Peng YC; Guo JM; Xu H; Wang CZ; Dong SL; Knaden M;
Address:		"Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, Ministry of Education/ Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China. Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China. Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, Ministry of Education/ Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China. Electronic address: sldong@njau.edu.cn. Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany. Electronic address: mknaden@ice.mpg.de"
Journal Title:		Curr Biol
Year:		2020
Volume:		20200910
Issue:		22
Page Number:		4476 - 4482
DOI:		10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.047
ISSN/ISBN:		1879-0445 (Electronic) 0960-9822 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Glucosinolates (GSs) are sulfur-containing secondary metabolites characteristic of cruciferous plants [1, 2]. Their breakdown products, isothiocyanates (ITCs), are released following tissue disruption by insect feeding or other mechanical damages [3, 4]. ITCs repel and are toxic to generalist herbivores, while specialist herbivores utilize the volatile ITCs as key signals for localizing host plants [5, 6]. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying detection of ITCs remain open. Here, we report that in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, a crucifer specialist, ITCs indeed drive the host preference for Arabidopsis thaliana, and the two olfactory receptors Or35 and Or49 are essential for this behavior. By performing gene expression analyses, we identified 12 (out of 59 in total) female-biased Ors, suggesting their possible involvement in oviposition choice. By ectopically expressing these Ors in Xenopus oocytes and screening their responses with 49 odors (including 13 ITCs, 25 general plant volatiles, and 11 sex pheromone components), we found that Or35 and Or49 responded specifically to three ITCs (iberverin, 4-pentenyl ITC, and phenylethyl ITC). The same ITCs also exhibited highest activity in electroantennogram recordings with female antennae and were the strongest oviposition stimulants. Knocking out either Or35 or Or49 via CRISPR-Cas9 resulted in a reduced oviposition preference for the ITCs, while double Or knockout females lost their ITC preference completely and were unable to choose between wild-type A. thaliana and a conspecific ITC knockout plant. We hence conclude that the ITC-based oviposition preference of the diamondback moth for its host A. thaliana is governed by the cooperation of two highly specific olfactory receptors"
Keywords:		"Animals Animals, Genetically Modified Arabidopsis/genetics/metabolism/*parasitology Female Host Specificity/*physiology Insect Proteins/genetics/*metabolism Isothiocyanates/metabolism Larva Loss of Function Mutation Moths/*physiology Mutagenesis Ovipositi;"
Notes:		"MedlineLiu, Xiao-Long Zhang, Jin Yan, Qi Miao, Chun-Li Han, Wei-Kang Hou, Wen Yang, Ke Hansson, Bill S Peng, Ying-Chuan Guo, Jin-Meng Xu, Hao Wang, Chen-Zhu Dong, Shuang-Lin Knaden, Markus eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2020/09/12 Curr Biol. 2020 Nov 16; 30(22):4476-4482.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.047. Epub 2020 Sep 10"