Specialized odorant receptors in social insects that detect cuticular hydrocarbon cues and candidate pheromones

Gregory M. Pask; Jesse D. Slone; Jocelyn G. Millar; Prithwiraj Das; Jardel A. Moreira; Xiaofan Zhou; Jan Bello; Shelley L. Berger; Roberto Bonasio; Claude Desplan; Danny Reinberg; Jürgen Liebig; Laurence J. Zwiebel; Anandasankar Ray

doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00099-1

Nature Communications (Aug 2017)

Specialized odorant receptors in social insects that detect cuticular hydrocarbon cues and candidate pheromones

Gregory M. Pask,
Jesse D. Slone,
Jocelyn G. Millar,
Prithwiraj Das,
Jardel A. Moreira,
Xiaofan Zhou,
Jan Bello,
Shelley L. Berger,
Roberto Bonasio,
Claude Desplan,
Danny Reinberg,
Jürgen Liebig,
Laurence J. Zwiebel,
Anandasankar Ray

Affiliations

Gregory M. Pask: Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside
Jesse D. Slone: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University
Jocelyn G. Millar: Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside
Prithwiraj Das: Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside
Jardel A. Moreira: Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside
Xiaofan Zhou: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University
Jan Bello: Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside
Shelley L. Berger: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Epigenetics Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Roberto Bonasio: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Epigenetics Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Claude Desplan: Department of Biology, New York University
Danny Reinberg: Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University School of Medicine
Jürgen Liebig: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
Laurence J. Zwiebel: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University
Anandasankar Ray: Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00099-1
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) mediate the interactions between individuals in eusocial insects, but the sensory receptors for CHCs are unclear. Here the authors show that in ants such as H. saltator, the 9-exon subfamily of odorant receptors (HsOrs) responds to CHCs, and ectopic expression of HsOrs in Drosophila neurons imparts responsiveness to CHCs.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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