Identification of a gustatory receptor tuned to sinigrin in the cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae

Glucosinolates are token stimuli in host selection of many crucifer specialist insects, but the underlying molecular basis for host selection in these insects remains enigmatic. Using a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular methods, we investigate glucosinolate receptors in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS genetics 2021-07, Vol.17 (7), p.e1009527-e1009527
Main Authors: Yang, Jun, Guo, Hao, Jiang, Nan-Ji, Tang, Rui, Li, Guo-Cheng, Huang, Ling-Qiao, van Loon, Joop J. A, Wang, Chen-Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Biology and Life Sciences
Caffeine
Females
Genetic aspects
Genomes
Glucosinolates
Herbivores
Host selection
Insects
Oocytes
Physiological aspects
Pieris rapae
Research and Analysis Methods
RNA-mediated interference
Sensilla
Sinigrin
Social Sciences
Taste buds
Taste receptors
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Summary:Glucosinolates are token stimuli in host selection of many crucifer specialist insects, but the underlying molecular basis for host selection in these insects remains enigmatic. Using a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular methods, we investigate glucosinolate receptors in the cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae. Sinigrin, as a potent feeding stimulant, elicited activity in larval maxillary lateral sensilla styloconica, as well as in adult medial tarsal sensilla. Two P. rapae gustatory receptor genes PrapGr28 and PrapGr15 were identified with high expression in female tarsi, and the subsequent functional analyses showed that Xenopus oocytes only expressing PrapGr28 had specific responses to sinigrin; when ectopically expressed in Drosophila sugar sensing neurons, PrapGr28 conferred sinigrin sensitivity to these neurons. RNA interference experiments further showed that knockdown of PrapGr28 reduced the sensitivity of adult medial tarsal sensilla to sinigrin. Taken together, we conclude that PrapGr28 is a gustatory receptor tuned to sinigrin in P. rapae, which paves the way for revealing the molecular basis of the relationships between crucifer plants and their specialist insects.
ISSN:1553-7404
1553-7390
1553-7404
DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1009527