Insect taste receptors relevant to host identification by recognition of secondary metabolite patterns of non-host plants
- Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588 (Japan)
Highlights: • Three putative bitter gustatory receptor of silkworm respond to several secondary metabolites in non-host plants. • Secondary metabolites responsive to the gustatory receptor are representative feeding-deterrents in non-host plants. • One feeding-deterrent gustatory receptor respond to multiple feeding deterrents. • Feeding deterrent receptors are expressed in silkworm mouthparts. • Representative secondary metabolite of a non-host plant, coumarin exactly had a suppressive effect on food intake of silkworm. The taste sensing system is crucial for food recognition in insects and other animals. It is commonly believed that insect gustatory receptors (Grs) expressed in gustatory organs are indispensable for host plant selection. Many behavioral studies have shown that mono- or oligo-phagous lepidopteran insects use the balance between feeding attractants and feeding deterrents in host plants and that these are sensed by taste organs for host plant recognition. However, the molecular mechanism underlying taste recognition, especially of feeding deterrents, remains to be elucidated. To better understand this mechanism, we studied orphan Grs, including Bombyx mori Gr (BmGr) 16, BmGr18, and BmGr53, from the mono-phagous insect, Bombyx mori. Using Calcium imaging in mammalian cells, we first confirmed in lepidoptera insects that three of the putative bitter Grs widely responded to structurally different feeding deterrents. Although the phylogenetic distance of these Grs was considerable, they responded to partially overlapping deterrents of plant secondary metabolites. These findings suggest that not only these three Grs but also most of the Grs that have been assigned to putative bitter Grs are feeding-deterrent receptors that play a role in host plant recognition.
- OSTI ID:
- 23137159
- Journal Information:
- Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol. 499, Issue 4; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0006-291X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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