Mechanisms of Olfaction in Insects - ResearchSpace@Auckland ...
Mechanisms of Olfaction in Insects - ResearchSpace@Auckland ...
Mechanisms of Olfaction in Insects - ResearchSpace@Auckland ...
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The roles <strong>of</strong> Epiphyas postvittana GOBP2 <strong>in</strong> odour detection 60<br />
antennae hence postulated to have a female oriented role, perhaps <strong>in</strong> the b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong><br />
some as yet unknown male specific pheromone. The fourth PBP, called PBP3 showed<br />
higher expression <strong>in</strong> male than female antennae, and has been postulated to be<br />
<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the pheromone component(s) <strong>of</strong> E. postvittana.<br />
The two GOBPs are members <strong>of</strong> the GOBP1 and GOBP2 family <strong>of</strong> GOBPs <strong>in</strong> moths<br />
and GOBP2 has a similar level <strong>of</strong> expression <strong>in</strong> male and female antennae (Newcomb<br />
et al., 2002). No data on sensillum localisation <strong>of</strong> EpGOBPs is available yet, however,<br />
the expression <strong>of</strong> A. polyphemus, B. mori and H. armigera GOBPs have been shown<br />
to be restricted to sensilla basiconica, hence a role <strong>of</strong> GOBPs <strong>in</strong> b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g plant volatiles<br />
<strong>of</strong> importance to moths is assumed (Ste<strong>in</strong>brecht et al., 1995; Wang et al., 2003). Very<br />
limited functional data is as yet available for any moth GOBP, with the only study<br />
reveal<strong>in</strong>g that M. sexta GOBP2 b<strong>in</strong>ds the plant volatiles (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, geraniol,<br />
geranyl acetate and limonene (Feng and Prestwich, 1997) and a recent study revealed<br />
B. mori GOBP2 b<strong>in</strong>ds bombykol and is able to discrim<strong>in</strong>ate it from the antagonist,<br />
bombykal (Zhou et al., 2009). Both M. sexta and B. mori GOBP1 have so far failed to<br />
b<strong>in</strong>d any <strong>of</strong> the ligands they have been tested with (Vogt et al., 2002; Zhou et al.,<br />
2009) lead<strong>in</strong>g to the conclusion that the prote<strong>in</strong>s tested might be <strong>in</strong>active allelic<br />
variants.<br />
3.1.1 Aim<br />
The aim <strong>of</strong> this research chapter is to test hypotheses <strong>of</strong> possible roles for GOBPs.<br />
GOBPs could be non-specific solubilis<strong>in</strong>g agents for a range <strong>of</strong> plant volatiles, or they<br />
could be ligand specific, like that observed for moth PBPs. GOBPs could form a<br />
complex with the ligand, and <strong>in</strong>teraction <strong>of</strong> this complex confers <strong>in</strong>creased sensitivity<br />
and selectivity onto the OR, as shown for H. virescens and B. mori PBPs <strong>in</strong><br />
heterologous cell assay systems. With this knowledge <strong>of</strong> roles <strong>of</strong> PBPs <strong>in</strong><br />
heterologous systems, a similar approach <strong>of</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g a reconstituted heterologous assay<br />
system can be used to test the hypothesised roles <strong>of</strong> GOBPs with E. postvittana<br />
GOBP2 (EpGOBP2) as a model: can EpGOBP2 act as a solubilis<strong>in</strong>g agent for plant<br />
volatiles? GOBP2 homologues <strong>in</strong> M. sexta and B. mori have been shown to b<strong>in</strong>d plant<br />
volatiles and sex pheromone components hence we assume EpGOBP2 to have a<br />
similar ligand b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g range. As part <strong>of</strong> this PhD research, E. postvittana OR1 was