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Zusammenfassung:
Background: Deciphering the molecular mechanisms mediating the chemical senses, taste, and smell has been of
vital importance for understanding the nature of how insects interact with their chemical environment. Several
gene families are implicated in the uptake, recognition, and termination of chemical signaling, including binding
proteins, chemosensory receptors and degrading enzymes. The cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, is a
phytophagous pest and current focal species for insect chemical ecology and neuroethology.
Results: We produced male and female Illumina-based transcriptomes from chemosensory and non-chemosensory
tissues of S. littoralis, including the antennae, proboscis, brain and body carcass. We have annotated 306 gene
transcripts from eight gene families with known chemosensory function, including 114 novel candidate genes.
Odorant receptors responsive to floral compounds are expressed in the proboscis and may play a role in guiding
proboscis probing behavior. In both males and females, expression of gene transcripts with known chemosensory
function, including odorant receptors and pheromone-binding proteins, has been observed in brain tissue,
suggesting internal, non-sensory function for these genes.
Conclusions: A well-curated set of annotated gene transcripts with putative chemosensory function is provided.
This will serve as a resource for future chemosensory and transcriptomic studies in S. littoralis and closely related
species. Collectively, our results expand current understanding of the expression patterns of genes with putative
chemosensory function in insect sensory and non-sensory tissues. When coupled with functional data, such as the
deorphanization of odorant receptors, the gene expression data can facilitate hypothesis generation, serving as a
substrate for future studies.
