Functional evolution of Lepidoptera olfactory receptors revealed by deorphanization of a moth repertoire

Arthur A. de Fouchier (1) , William B Walker (2) , Nicolas Montagne (1) , Claudia Steiner (2, 1) , Muhammad Binyameen (2) , Fredrik Schlyter (2) , Thomas Chertemps (1) , Annick Maria (1) , Marie-Christine François (1) , Christelle Monsempes (1) , Peter Anderson (2) , Bill S Hansson (3) , Mattias C Larsson (2) , Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly (1)

1 iEES Paris - Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris
2 SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences = Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
3 Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Insects detect their hosts or mates primarily through olfaction, and olfactory receptors (ORs) are at the core of odorant detection. Each species has evolved a unique repertoire of ORs whose functional properties are expected to meet its ecological needs, though little is known about the molecular basis of olfaction outside Diptera. Here we report a pioneer functional analysis of a large array of ORs in a lepidopteran, the herbivorous pest Spodoptera littoralis. We demonstrate that most ORs are narrowly tuned to ubiquitous plant volatiles at low, relevant odorant titres. Our phylogenetic analysis highlights a basic conservation of function within the receptor repertoire of Lepidoptera, across the expansive evolutionary radiation of different major clades. Our study provides a reference for further studies of olfactory mechanisms in Lepidoptera, a historically crucial insect order in olfactory research.

Mots clés: Phylogenetics; Chemical ecology; Entomology; Olfactory receptors

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité et Ecologie

Arthur A. de Fouchier, William B Walker, Nicolas Montagne, Claudia Steiner, Muhammad Binyameen, et al.. Functional evolution of Lepidoptera olfactory receptors revealed by deorphanization of a moth repertoire. Nature Communications, 2017, 8, pp.15709. ⟨10.1038/ncomms15709⟩. ⟨hal-01938636⟩