| Title: | Protein feeding mediates sex pheromone biosynthesis in an insect |
| Author(s): | Gui S; Yuval B; Engl T; Lu Y; Cheng D; |
| Address: | "Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China. Department of Entomology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel. Department of Insect Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2050-084X (Electronic) 2050-084X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Protein feeding is critical for male reproductive success in many insect species. However, how protein affects the reproduction remains largely unknown. Using Bactrocera dorsalis as the study model, we investigated how protein feeding regulated sex pheromone synthesis. We show that protein ingestion is essential for sex pheromone synthesis in male. While protein feeding or deprivation did not affect Bacillus abundance, transcriptome analysis revealed that sarcosine dehydrogenase (Sardh) in protein-fed males regulates the biosynthesis of sex pheromones by increasing glycine and threonine (sex pheromone precursors) contents. RNAi-mediated loss-of-function of Sardh decreases glycine, threonine, and sex pheromone contents and results in decreased mating ability in males. The study links male feeding behavior with discrete patterns of gene expression that plays role in sex pheromone synthesis, which in turn translates to successful copulatory behavior of the males" |
| Keywords: | Animals Male *Sex Attractants Insecta/genetics *Tephritidae/genetics Gene Expression Profiling RNA Interference amino acids ecology fruit fly mating behavior protein nutrition rectal bacteria sex pheromone; |
| Notes: | "MedlineGui, Shiyu Yuval, Boaz Engl, Tobias Lu, Yongyue Cheng, Daifeng eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2023/01/20 Elife. 2023 Jan 19; 12:e83469. doi: 10.7554/eLife.83469" |
