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Recent Advances in Chemosensory-Based Behaviorally, Physiologically, and Molecularly Manipulated Technology...
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Recent Advances in Chemosensory-Based Behaviorally, Physiologically, and Molecularly Manipulated Technology of Pest Insects

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2024 | Viewed by 3679

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rui Tang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Resource Insects and Biotechnology, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Interests: insect neuroethology; chemical ecology; olfactory perception
Dr. Nanji Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
Interests: insect neuroethology; neural circuits; behavioral decision

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chemosensory reception stands as an ancient and pivotal sensory mode in insects, where environmental volatile cues and taste components are intricately processed through sophisticated neural circuits. These interactions yield discernible behavioral and physiological responses, necessitating cross-trophic chemical communication and precise chemosensory protein function. This framework offers avenues for targeted manipulation of insect species, potentially augmenting environmentally friendly strategies within conventional integrated pest management approaches. This Special Issue invites research papers investigating key chemical signals, their reception mechanisms, molecular underpinnings, and relevant technological applications for insect pest management. We particularly encourage contributions encompassing the following themes:

  • Omics-based screening of chemical and molecular formulations;
  • Insect physiological and neurological coding pathways underlying chemosensory reception;
  • In vitro and in vivo demonstrations of functional chemosensory genes;
  • In silico high-throughput screening for identifying behavioral regulators in pest insects;
  • Exploring plant–insect–microbe interactions mediated by chemical signals and chemosensory perception;
  • Cost-effective utilization of formulations and demonstrations within integrated pest management strategies.

Dr. Rui Tang
Dr. Nanji Jiang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insect pests
  • chemosensory reception
  • environmental cues
  • neural pathways
  • molecular function
  • pest management

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2051 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Comb Cell Size on the Development of Apis mellifera Drones
by Lifu Zhang, Linxin Shao, Muhammad Fahad Raza, Richou Han and Wenfeng Li
Life 2024, 14(2), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14020222 - 4 Feb 2024
Viewed by 807
Abstract
The growth and development of honeybees are influenced by many factors, one of which is the cell size of the brood comb. Larger worker bees can be obtained by being raised in bigger cells. However, whether cell size has the same effect on [...] Read more.
The growth and development of honeybees are influenced by many factors, one of which is the cell size of the brood comb. Larger worker bees can be obtained by being raised in bigger cells. However, whether cell size has the same effect on drone development is still unknown. Here, using 3D-printed foundations, we observed the development of drones kept in comb cells of different sizes from the late larval stage through eclosion. The results showed that drones in larger cell-size combs had heavier body weights, longer body lengths, and larger head widths, thorax widths, and abdomen widths compared to those in smaller cell-size combs. Furthermore, regardless of developmental stages, the drones’ body weights increased linearly with the comb’s cell size. However, the other morphological changes of drones in different developmental stages were out of proportion to the cell-size changes, resulting in smaller cells with a higher fill factor (thorax width/cell width). Our findings confirm that comb cell size affects the development of honeybees; drones become bigger when raised in large cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Chemosensory-Based Behaviorally, Physiologically, and Molecularly Manipulated Technology of Pest Insects)
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16 pages, 4511 KiB  
Article
The Sequence Characteristics and Binding Properties of the Odorant-Binding Protein SvelOBP1 from Sympiezomias velatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to Jujube Volatiles
by Yingyan Zhai, Feng Zhang, Tianqi Tian, Yiwei Yang, Yang Li, Bowen Ren and Bo Hong
Life 2024, 14(2), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14020192 - 29 Jan 2024
Viewed by 742
Abstract
Sympiezomias velatus (Chevrolat) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) has caused serious damage on jujube trees (Ziziphus jujuba Mill) in northern China. Semiochemicals emerging from the host are essential in the process of insects identifying and localizing the host. The highly expressed odorant-binding protein 1 of [...] Read more.
Sympiezomias velatus (Chevrolat) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) has caused serious damage on jujube trees (Ziziphus jujuba Mill) in northern China. Semiochemicals emerging from the host are essential in the process of insects identifying and localizing the host. The highly expressed odorant-binding protein 1 of S. velatus (SvelOBP1) was assumed to play a possible role in the recognition of host volatiles. In this study, SvelOBP1 was cloned based on the antennal transcriptome of S. velatus. The recombinant SvelOBP1 protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by Ni-NTA resin. The predicted protein SvelOBP1 belonged to a classic OBP subfamily. The expression patterns revealed that SvelOBP1 was mainly expressed in the antennae of both males and females, whereas the expression of SvelOBP1 in other body parts could be neglected. The fluorescence binding assay indicated that SvelOBP1 displayed very strong binding affinities to dibutyl benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate and (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (Ki = 6.66 ± 0.03 and 7.98 ± 0.06 μM). The molecular docking results showed that residues Trp114, Phe115 and Asp110 may be involved in binding to both dibutyl benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate and (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol and may have a great impact on odorant recognition of S. velatus. Our results provide evidence that SvelOBP1 might participate in the olfactory molecular perception of S. velatus and would promote the development of pest attractants for S. velatus control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Chemosensory-Based Behaviorally, Physiologically, and Molecularly Manipulated Technology of Pest Insects)
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15 pages, 3756 KiB  
Article
A Study of Adult Olfactory Proteins of Primitive Ghost Moth, Endoclita signifer (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae)
by Guipeng Xiao, Jintao Lu, Zhende Yang, Hengfei Fu and Ping Hu
Life 2023, 13(12), 2264; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13122264 - 27 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 771
Abstract
Endoclita signifer is a prominent wood-boring insect species in eucalyptus plantations in Guangxi, China, causing significant ecological and economic damage. A novel approach to controlling the challenging wood-boring pest involves disrupting the olfactory communication between insects and the volatile compounds emitted by plants. [...] Read more.
Endoclita signifer is a prominent wood-boring insect species in eucalyptus plantations in Guangxi, China, causing significant ecological and economic damage. A novel approach to controlling the challenging wood-boring pest involves disrupting the olfactory communication between insects and the volatile compounds emitted by plants. To identify the olfactory proteins contributing to host selection based on 11 GC-EAD-active volatiles from eucalyptus leaves and to discover the highly expressed olfactory proteins, we conducted a study on the antennal transcriptomes of adult E. signifer and screened key olfactory proteins in the antennae. We identified a total of 69 olfactory proteins. When compared to the larval transcriptomes, the antennal transcriptome of adult E. signifer revealed the presence of 17 new odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), including 2 pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs), 7 previously unreported chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 17 new odorant receptors (ORs), 4 new gustatory receptors (GRs), 11 novel ionotropic receptors (IRs), and 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Through the phylogenetic tree of OBPs and ORs, we identified EsigPBP2 and EsigPBP3 as two of the three PBPs, designated EsigOR13 as EsigOrco, and recognized EsigOR10 and EsigOR22 as the newly discovered EsigPRs in E. signifer. In the adult antennae, the expression levels of EsigGOBP14, EsigGOBP13, EsigOBP14, EsigOBP17, EsigCSP14, and EsigOR16 were notably high, indicating that these proteins could be pivotal in binding to plant volatiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Chemosensory-Based Behaviorally, Physiologically, and Molecularly Manipulated Technology of Pest Insects)
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14 pages, 3557 KiB  
Article
Caterpillar Responses to Gustatory Stimuli in Potato Tuber Moths: Electrophysiological and Behavioral Insights
by Ni Mu, Jia-Cai Tang, Jing Zhao, Qi-Chun Fu, Yan-Fen Ma, Rui Tang and Wen-Xia Dong
Life 2023, 13(11), 2174; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13112174 - 7 Nov 2023
Viewed by 926
Abstract
This research investigates how fourth-instar larvae of the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella, respond to plant secondary metabolites (sucrose, glucose, nicotine, and tannic acid) both in terms of gustatory electrophysiology and feeding behavior. The objective is to establish a theoretical foundation for [...] Read more.
This research investigates how fourth-instar larvae of the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella, respond to plant secondary metabolites (sucrose, glucose, nicotine, and tannic acid) both in terms of gustatory electrophysiology and feeding behavior. The objective is to establish a theoretical foundation for employing plant-derived compounds in potato tuber moth control. We employed single-sensillum recording techniques and dual-choice leaf disk assays to assess the gustatory electrophysiological responses and feeding preferences of these larvae towards the mentioned compounds. Sensory neurons responsive to sucrose, glucose, nicotine, and tannic acid were identified in the larvae’s medial and lateral sensilla styloconica. Neuronal activity was influenced by stimulus type and concentration. Notably, the two types of sensilla styloconica displayed distinct response patterns for sucrose and glucose while they had similar firing patterns towards nicotine and tannic acid. Sucrose and glucose significantly promoted larval feeding, while nicotine and tannic acid had significant inhibitory effects. These findings demonstrate that the medial and lateral sensilla styloconica house sensory neurons sensitive to both feeding stimulants and inhibitors, albeit with differing response profiles and sensitivities. This study suggests that sucrose and glucose are promising candidates for feeding stimulants, while nicotine and tannic acid show potential as effective feeding inhibitors of P. operculella larvae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Chemosensory-Based Behaviorally, Physiologically, and Molecularly Manipulated Technology of Pest Insects)
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