State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Pei-Chao Wang
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Chao Ning
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Guo-Cheng Li
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Lin-Lin Cao
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Ling-Qiao Huang
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Almost all herbivorous insects feed on plants and use sucrose as a feeding stimulant, but the molecular basis of their sucrose reception remains unclear. Helicoverpa armigera as a notorious crop pest worldwide mainly feeds on reproductive organs of many plant species in the larval stage, and its adult draws nectar. In this study, we determined that the sucrose sensory neurons located in the contact chemosensilla on larval maxillary galea were 100–1000 times more sensitive to sucrose than those on adult antennae, tarsi, and proboscis. Using the Xenopus expression system, we discovered that Gr10 highly expressed in the larval sensilla was specifically tuned to sucrose, while Gr6 highly expressed in the adult sensilla responded to fucose, sucrose and fructose. Moreover, using CRISPR/Cas9, we revealed that Gr10 was mainly used by larvae to detect lower sucrose, while Gr6 was primarily used by adults to detect higher sucrose and other saccharides, which results in differences in selectivity and sensitivity between larval and adult sugar sensory neurons. Our results demonstrate the sugar receptors in this moth are evolved to adapt toward the larval and adult foods with different types and amounts of sugar, and fill in a gap in sweet taste of animals.
