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Expression Analysis and Binding Assays in the Chemosensory Protein Gene Family Indicate Multiple Roles in Helicoverpa armigera

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Abstract

Chemosensory proteins (CSPs) have been proposed to capture and transport hydrophobic chemicals to receptors on sensory neurons. We identified and cloned 24 CSP genes to better understand the physiological function of CSPs in Helicoverpa armigera. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays indicate that CSP genes are ubiquitously expressed in adult H. armigera tissues. Broad expression patterns in adult tissues suggest that CSPs are involved in a diverse range of cellular processes, including chemosensation as well as other functions not related to chemosensation. The H. armigera CSPs that were highly transcribed in sensory organs or pheromone glands (HarmCSPs 6, 9, 18, 19), were recombinantly expressed in bacteria to explore their function. Fluorescent competitive binding assays were used to measure the binding affinities of these CSPs against 85 plant volatiles and 4 pheromone components. HarmCSP6 displays high binding affinity for pheromone components, whereas the other three proteins do not show affinities for any of the compounds tested. HarmCSP6 is expressed in numerous cells located in or close to long sensilla trichodea on the antennae of both males and females. These results suggest that HarmCSP6 may be involved in transporting female sex pheromones in H. armigera.

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Abbreviations

CSP:

Chemosensory protein

OBP:

odorant-binding protein

OS-D:

olfactory specific protein-D

qRT-PCR:

quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction

Nr:

Non-redundant protein sequences database

1-NPN:

1-N-phenylnaphthylamine

Ki:

Dissociation constant

PBP:

Pheromone binding protein

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Acknowledgment

We thank Nai-Yong Liu (Nanjing Agricultural University, China) for help in 3-D structural modeling, and professer Guirong Wang and Mengbo Guo for help in the in situ hybridization experiments. This study was funded by research grants from the Ministry of Agriculture of China (2014ZX08011-002) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31071978).

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China

    Zhao-Qun Li, Shuai Zhang, Jun-Yu Luo, Jing Zhu & Jin-Jie Cui

  2. Education Ministry Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Zhao-Qun Li & Shuang-Lin Dong

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  1. Zhao-Qun Li
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  2. Shuai Zhang
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Correspondence to Jin-Jie Cui.

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Li, ZQ., Zhang, S., Luo, JY. et al. Expression Analysis and Binding Assays in the Chemosensory Protein Gene Family Indicate Multiple Roles in Helicoverpa armigera . J Chem Ecol 41, 473–485 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0574-x

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