Odorant Reception in Insects: Roles of Receptors, Binding Proteins, and Degrading Enzymes

Our knowledge of the molecular basis of odorant reception in insects has grown exponentially over the past decade. Odorant receptors (ORs) from moths, fruit flies, mosquitoes, and the honey bees have been deorphanized, odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs) have been isolated, and the functions of odorant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of entomology 2013-01, Vol.58 (1), p.373-391
Main Author: Leal, Walter S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biochemistry. Physiology. Immunology
Biological and medical sciences
Bombyx mori
Carrier Proteins - metabolism
Drosophila melanogaster
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Insecta
Insecta - genetics
Insecta - physiology
Invertebrates
odorant receptors
Olfactory Perception
olfactory receptor neurons
pheromone-binding proteins
pheromone-degrading enzymes
Pheromones - genetics
Pheromones - metabolism
Physiology. Development
Receptors, Odorant - genetics
Receptors, Odorant - metabolism
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Summary:Our knowledge of the molecular basis of odorant reception in insects has grown exponentially over the past decade. Odorant receptors (ORs) from moths, fruit flies, mosquitoes, and the honey bees have been deorphanized, odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs) have been isolated, and the functions of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) have been unveiled. OBPs contribute to the sensitivity of the olfactory system by transporting odorants through the sensillar lymph, but there are competing hypotheses on how they act at the end of the journey. A few ODEs that have been demonstrated to degrade odorants rapidly may act in signal inactivation alone or in combination with other molecular traps. Although ORs in Drosophila melanogaster respond to multiple odorants and seem to work in combinatorial code involving both periphery and antennal lobes, reception of sex pheromones by moth ORs suggests that their labeled lines rely heavily on selectivity at the periphery.
ISSN:0066-4170
1545-4487
DOI:10.1146/annurev-ento-120811-153635