Evolution and functional analysis of odorant‐binding proteins in three rice planthoppers: Nilaparvata lugens, Sogatella furcifera, and Laodelphax striatellus

Abstract

BACKGROUND The white‐backed planthopper (WBPH) Sogatella furcifera, the brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens, and the small brown planthopper (SBPH) Laodelphax striatellus are three notorious rice pests that cause annual losses in rice yield through sap‐sucking and virus transmission. Odorant‐binding proteins (OBPs) are crucial olfactory genes involved in host‐seeking behavior. RESULTS We discovered the presence of 12, 12, and 16 OBPs in WBPH, BPH, and SBPH, respectively, including two novel OBPs in BPH and seven novel OBPs in SBPH. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that most of these OBPs have homologous genes, and one group (SfurOBP11, NlugOBP8, and LstrOBP2) show a slower evolution rate and are more conserved. Further, in vitro binding studies demonstrated that the three OBPs have similar binding affinities for some rice plant volatiles. Finally, RNA interference (RNAi) successfully inhibited the mRNA expression of the three OBPs, and in vivo behavioral tests showed that the OBP‐deficient rice planthoppers were partly anosmic and lost some of their ability to locate rice plants. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate the crucial role of the rice planthopper OBP genes in seeking rice plants. This information complements the current genetic resources for the development of RNAi‐based transgenic rice and other pest management technologies. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry

Characterization of MaltOBP1, a Minus-C Odorant-Binding Protein, From the Japanese Pine Sawyer Beetle, Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

“…Analyzing expression patterns of OBPs could better help us to understand the functions of these proteins. Many studies have shown that most insect OBPs are mainly expressed in the antennae of both sexes, demonstrating that they might be involved in olfactory functions (Li L. et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2017;He et al, 2019). Our western blot experiments show that MaltOBP1 is predominantly expressed in the antennae, legs and wings of both sexes.…”

“…Studies involving OBP identification (Li L. et al, 2017;Zhao et al, 2018), protein structural analysis (Northey et al, 2016;Falchetto et al, 2019), immunocytochemistry in specific olfactory sensilla Zhang et al, 2018), ligand binding properties (Sun et al, 2017(Sun et al, , 2018, and in vivo RNA interference (Yin et al, 2018;He et al, 2019) have demonstrated that insect OBPs play crucial roles in odorant discrimination, binding, and transportation. These proteins carry lipophilic odorants to the olfactory receptor cells in the sensillar lymph surrounding the sensory dendrite (Pelosi et al, 2014(Pelosi et al, , 2018.…”

Functional characteristic analysis of three odorant‐binding proteins from the sweet potato weevil (Cylas formicarius) in the perception of sex pheromones and host plant volatiles

“…At present, the RNAi method has been successfully used to silence target genes in a wide variety of insects, including Lepidoptera, 21,22 Hemiptera, 23 Orthoptera, 24 Hymenoptera, 25 Coleoptera, 26,27 Diptera 28 and Blattaria 29 . There are many ways to import dsRNA interference fragments, and the three most common RNAi experiments are microinjection, ingestion and soaking 30,31 .…”

Odorant Binding Proteins and Chemosensory Proteins in Episyrphus balteatus (Diptera: Syrphidae): Molecular Cloning, Expression Profiling, and Gene Evolution

“…Since the first OBPs were discovered in 1981 from the giant moth Antheraea polyphemus ( Vogt and Riddiford 1981 ), they have been identified and characterized in numerous insect species across multiple orders using transcriptome and genome sequencing ( Zhou et al 2006 , Pelosi et al 2014 ). Their indispensable role in insect chemoreception has also been demonstrated in vivo and in vitro for several species (e.g., Xu et al 2005 ; Matsuo et al 2007 ; Swarup et al 2011 ; Siciliano et al 2014 ; Wu et al 2016 ; Zhu et al 2016 ; He et al 2017 , 2019a ).…”

“…In insects, two groups of polypeptides are commonly known to involve the process of the chemoreception: membrane-bound receptors (olfactory receptors [ORs], gustatory receptors [GRs], and ionotropic receptors [IRs]) ( Buck and Axel 1991 , Clyne et al 1999 , Carraher et al 2015 , He et al 2018 ) and soluble binding proteins (odorant-binding proteins [OBPs] and chemosensory proteins [CSPs]) ( Pelosi et al 1981 ; Vogt and Riddiford 1981 ; Pelosi et al 1982 ; He et al 2019a , 2019b ). The latter are highly concentrated in the olfactory organs and have long been considered to participate the first step of chemical communication, acting to bind and solubilize odorant molecules across the aqueous lymph of the sensilla toward the corresponding membrane-bound receptors ( Calvello et al 2003 , Honson et al 2005 , Pelosi et al 2006 , Sachse and Krieger 2011 , Pelosi et al 2014 ).…”