A novel lineage of candidate pheromone receptors for sex communication in moths
Lucie Bastin-Héline,
Arthur de Fouchier,
Song Cao,
Fotini Koutroumpa,
Gabriela Caballero-Vidal,
Stefania Robakiewicz,
Christelle Monsempes,
Marie-Christine François,
Tatiana Ribeyre,
Annick Maria,
Thomas Chertemps,
Anne de Cian,
William B Walker III,
Guirong Wang,
Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly,
Nicolas Montagné
Affiliations
Lucie Bastin-Héline
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Arthur de Fouchier
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Song Cao
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Fotini Koutroumpa
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Gabriela Caballero-Vidal
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Stefania Robakiewicz
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Christelle Monsempes
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Marie-Christine François
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Tatiana Ribeyre
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Annick Maria
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Thomas Chertemps
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Anne de Cian
CNRS UMR 7196, INSERM U1154, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden
Guirong Wang
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Sorbonne Université, Inra, CNRS, IRD, UPEC, Université Paris Diderot, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Paris and Versailles, France
Sex pheromone receptors (PRs) are key players in chemical communication between mating partners in insects. In the highly diversified insect order Lepidoptera, male PRs tuned to female-emitted type I pheromones (which make up the vast majority of pheromones identified) form a dedicated subfamily of odorant receptors (ORs). Here, using a combination of heterologous expression and in vivo genome editing methods, we bring functional evidence that at least one moth PR does not belong to this subfamily but to a distantly related OR lineage. This PR, identified in the cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis, is highly expressed in male antennae and is specifically tuned to the major sex pheromone component emitted by females. Together with a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of moth ORs, our functional data suggest two independent apparitions of PRs tuned to type I pheromones in Lepidoptera, opening up a new path for studying the evolution of moth pheromone communication.
