Attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families
Abstract Background Alternative food sources are crucial for the survival and reproduction of moths during nectar scarcity. Noctuid moths make a better use of fermented food sources than moths from other families, while the underlying molecular and genetic basis remain unexplored. As the fermentatio...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-02102-w |
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| author | Xiao-Qing Hou Dan-Dan Zhang Hanbo Zhao Yang Liu Christer Löfstedt Guirong Wang |
| author_facet | Xiao-Qing Hou Dan-Dan Zhang Hanbo Zhao Yang Liu Christer Löfstedt Guirong Wang |
| author_sort | Xiao-Qing Hou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Alternative food sources are crucial for the survival and reproduction of moths during nectar scarcity. Noctuid moths make a better use of fermented food sources than moths from other families, while the underlying molecular and genetic basis remain unexplored. As the fermentation progresses, yeasts lysis and the accumulation of metabolic byproducts alter the composition and the volatile release of the sugary substrates. However, it is unclear whether and how this would affect the feeding preference of moths. Results Here, we identified eight compounds abundant in the dynamic volatile profiles of several sugary substrates during yeast fermentation. We showed that the cotton bollworm moths were attracted to the fermented sugary substrates while being repelled when the sugary substrates were over-fermented. The attraction and aversion were respectively mediated by isoamyl alcohol and octanoic acid. We deorphanized the olfactory receptors detecting these two compounds and found that they belonged to two distinct gene families and were functionally conserved across four noctuid subfamilies; HarmOR52 orthologues responded to the attractive isoamyl alcohol and HarmIR75q.1 orthologues responded to the aversive octanoic acid. Conclusions Our findings suggest that this functional conservation is an olfactory adaptation that has allowed noctuid moths to extend their diet to fermented food sources. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ac4d088bda3444884a64005459a261a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1741-7007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ac4d088bda3444884a64005459a261a2025-01-12T12:39:51ZengBMCBMC Biology1741-70072025-01-0123111710.1186/s12915-024-02102-wAttraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene familiesXiao-Qing Hou0Dan-Dan Zhang1Hanbo Zhao2Yang Liu3Christer Löfstedt4Guirong Wang5Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesDepartment of Biology, Lund UniversityShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesState Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesDepartment of Biology, Lund UniversityShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAbstract Background Alternative food sources are crucial for the survival and reproduction of moths during nectar scarcity. Noctuid moths make a better use of fermented food sources than moths from other families, while the underlying molecular and genetic basis remain unexplored. As the fermentation progresses, yeasts lysis and the accumulation of metabolic byproducts alter the composition and the volatile release of the sugary substrates. However, it is unclear whether and how this would affect the feeding preference of moths. Results Here, we identified eight compounds abundant in the dynamic volatile profiles of several sugary substrates during yeast fermentation. We showed that the cotton bollworm moths were attracted to the fermented sugary substrates while being repelled when the sugary substrates were over-fermented. The attraction and aversion were respectively mediated by isoamyl alcohol and octanoic acid. We deorphanized the olfactory receptors detecting these two compounds and found that they belonged to two distinct gene families and were functionally conserved across four noctuid subfamilies; HarmOR52 orthologues responded to the attractive isoamyl alcohol and HarmIR75q.1 orthologues responded to the aversive octanoic acid. Conclusions Our findings suggest that this functional conservation is an olfactory adaptation that has allowed noctuid moths to extend their diet to fermented food sources.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-02102-wIsoamyl alcoholOctanoic acidOdorant receptorIonotropic receptorYeastFunctional conservation |
| spellingShingle | Xiao-Qing Hou Dan-Dan Zhang Hanbo Zhao Yang Liu Christer Löfstedt Guirong Wang Attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families BMC Biology Isoamyl alcohol Octanoic acid Odorant receptor Ionotropic receptor Yeast Functional conservation |
| title | Attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families |
| title_full | Attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families |
| title_fullStr | Attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families |
| title_short | Attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families |
| title_sort | attraction and aversion of noctuid moths to fermented food sources coordinated by olfactory receptors from distinct gene families |
| topic | Isoamyl alcohol Octanoic acid Odorant receptor Ionotropic receptor Yeast Functional conservation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-02102-w |
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