Identification and Functional Characterization of an Odorant Receptor Expressed in the Genitalia of Helicoverpa armigera

Weihao Liu, Dongdong Sun, Xiaoqing Wang, Zhiqiang Wang and Yang Liu ()
Additional contact information
Weihao Liu: School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Dongdong Sun: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xiaoqing Wang: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Zhiqiang Wang: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Yang Liu: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Olfaction is critical for guiding the physiological activities of insects, with antennae being the primary olfactory organs. However, recent evidence suggests that other tissues may also participate in olfactory recognition. Among these, the genitalia of moths have received attention due to their roles in mating and oviposition. Sensilla and odorant receptors (ORs) in moth genitalia highlight the potential olfactory function of these structures. In this study, we examined the olfactory sensing capacity of the genitalia in Helicoverpa armigera by analyzing their structure in males and females and characterizing the expressed ORs. Scanning electron microscopy uncovered many sensilla distributed throughout the male and female genitalia. Transcriptome sequencing identified 20 ORs in the genitalia, with HarmOR68 exhibiting significant responses to methyl esters: methyl benzoate and salicylate. Our findings provide theoretical evidence that H. armigera genitalia may have significant olfactory perception functions.

Keywords: Helicoverpa armigera; genitalia; sensilla; olfactory receptor; scanning electron micrograph (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/7/1030/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/7/1030/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:7:p:1030-:d:1424651

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().