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Abstract:
Contact chemosensation, or tasting, is a complex process governed by nonvolatile phytochemicals that tell
host-seeking insects whether they should accept or reject a plant. During this process, insect gustatory
receptors (GRs) contribute to deciphering a host plant's metabolic code. GRs recognise many different
classes of nonvolatile compounds; some GRs are likely to be narrowly tuned and others, broadly tuned.
Although primary and/or secondary plant metabolites influence the insect's feeding choice, their decoding
by GRs is challenging, because metabolites in planta occur in complex mixtures that have additive or
inhibitory effects; in diverse forms composed of structurally unrelated molecules; and at different
concentrations depending on the plant species, its tissue and developmental stage. Future studies of the
mechanism of insect herbivore GRs will benefit from functional characterisation taking into account the
spatio-temporal dynamics and diversity of the plant's metabolome. Metabolic information, in turn, will
help to elucidate the impact of single ligands and complex natural mixtures on the insect's feeding choice.
