A Gustatory Receptor GR8 Tunes Specifically to D-Fructose in the Common Cutworm Spodoptera litura

Liu, Xiao-Long; Yan, Qi; Yang, Yi-Lin; Hou, Wen; Miao, Chun-Li; Peng, Ying-Chuan; Dong, Shuang-Lin

doi:10.3390/insects10090272

Open AccessArticle

A Gustatory Receptor GR8 Tunes Specifically to D-Fructose in the Common Cutworm Spodoptera litura

by

Xiao-Long Liu

^1,†,

Qi Yan

^1,†,

Yi-Lin Yang

¹,

Wen Hou

¹,

Chun-Li Miao

¹,

Ying-Chuan Peng

² and

Shuang-Lin Dong

^1,*

¹

Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Disease and Pests, Ministry of Education/Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

²

Institute of Entomology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Insects 2019, 10(9), 272; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10090272

Submission received: 19 July 2019 / Revised: 15 August 2019 / Accepted: 20 August 2019 / Published: 26 August 2019

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Abstract

Gustatory receptors (GRs) are crucial in the peripheral coding of the non-volatile compounds in insects, and thus play important roles in multiple behaviors including feeding, mating, and oviposition. However, little research has been done on GRs in lepidopteran pests. In the current work with Spodoptera litura, an important worldwide crop’s pest, a candidate fructose GR gene (SlitGR8) was cloned in full length, and its spatial and temporal expression profiles were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). It revealed that SlitGR8 was highly expressed in antennae of both male and female adults, as well as in larva of first, fifth and sixth instar. Functional analyses were further conducted using the Xenopus oocyte system. SlitGR8 responded specifically to D-fructose among 12 tested sugar compounds. In addition, the behavioral assay demonstrated that both female and male moths could respond with proboscis extension behavior to D-fructose applied onto the antenna, but females showed higher sensitivity than males. The results provide an important base for further elucidation of molecular mechanisms of gustation, and a potential target for development of feeding interfering technique in S. litura.

Keywords: gustatory receptor; Spodoptera litura; D-fructose; Xenopus oocyte; proboscis extension reflex

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MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, X.-L.; Yan, Q.; Yang, Y.-L.; Hou, W.; Miao, C.-L.; Peng, Y.-C.; Dong, S.-L. A Gustatory Receptor GR8 Tunes Specifically to D-Fructose in the Common Cutworm Spodoptera litura. Insects 2019, 10, 272. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10090272

AMA Style

Liu X-L, Yan Q, Yang Y-L, Hou W, Miao C-L, Peng Y-C, Dong S-L. A Gustatory Receptor GR8 Tunes Specifically to D-Fructose in the Common Cutworm Spodoptera litura. Insects. 2019; 10(9):272. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10090272

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Xiao-Long, Qi Yan, Yi-Lin Yang, Wen Hou, Chun-Li Miao, Ying-Chuan Peng, and Shuang-Lin Dong. 2019. "A Gustatory Receptor GR8 Tunes Specifically to D-Fructose in the Common Cutworm Spodoptera litura" Insects 10, no. 9: 272. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10090272

APA Style

Liu, X.-L., Yan, Q., Yang, Y.-L., Hou, W., Miao, C.-L., Peng, Y.-C., & Dong, S.-L. (2019). A Gustatory Receptor GR8 Tunes Specifically to D-Fructose in the Common Cutworm Spodoptera litura. Insects, 10(9), 272. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10090272

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A Gustatory Receptor GR8 Tunes Specifically to D-Fructose in the Common Cutworm Spodoptera litura

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