Lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition
Abstract Moth sex pheromones are a classical model for studying sexual selection. Females typically produce a species-specific pheromone blend that attracts males. Revealing the enzymes involved in the interspecific variation in blend composition is key for understanding the evolution of these sexua...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43100-w |
| _version_ | 1797558766581841920 |
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| author | Arthur de Fouchier Elise Fruitet Rik Lievers Peter Kuperus Jennifer Emerson Fred Gould David G. Heckel Astrid T. Groot |
| author_facet | Arthur de Fouchier Elise Fruitet Rik Lievers Peter Kuperus Jennifer Emerson Fred Gould David G. Heckel Astrid T. Groot |
| author_sort | Arthur de Fouchier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Moth sex pheromones are a classical model for studying sexual selection. Females typically produce a species-specific pheromone blend that attracts males. Revealing the enzymes involved in the interspecific variation in blend composition is key for understanding the evolution of these sexual communication systems. The nature of the enzymes involved in the variation of acetate esters, which are prominent compounds in moth pheromone blends, remains unclear. We identify enzymes involved in acetate degradation using two closely related moth species: Heliothis (Chloridea) subflexa and H. (C.) virescens, which have different quantities of acetate esters in their sex pheromone. Through comparative transcriptomic analyses and CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts, we show that two lipases and two esterases from H. virescens reduce the levels of pheromone acetate esters when expressed in H. subflexa females. Together, our results show that lipases and carboxylesterases are involved in tuning Lepidoptera pheromones composition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:36:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e8ba8c1bb7c54d3090d320251e4b887e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:36:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-e8ba8c1bb7c54d3090d320251e4b887e2023-11-20T09:52:59ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-11-0114111110.1038/s41467-023-43100-wLipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognitionArthur de Fouchier0Elise Fruitet1Rik Lievers2Peter Kuperus3Jennifer Emerson4Fred Gould5David G. Heckel6Astrid T. Groot7Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State UniversityDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State UniversityInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of AmsterdamAbstract Moth sex pheromones are a classical model for studying sexual selection. Females typically produce a species-specific pheromone blend that attracts males. Revealing the enzymes involved in the interspecific variation in blend composition is key for understanding the evolution of these sexual communication systems. The nature of the enzymes involved in the variation of acetate esters, which are prominent compounds in moth pheromone blends, remains unclear. We identify enzymes involved in acetate degradation using two closely related moth species: Heliothis (Chloridea) subflexa and H. (C.) virescens, which have different quantities of acetate esters in their sex pheromone. Through comparative transcriptomic analyses and CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts, we show that two lipases and two esterases from H. virescens reduce the levels of pheromone acetate esters when expressed in H. subflexa females. Together, our results show that lipases and carboxylesterases are involved in tuning Lepidoptera pheromones composition.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43100-w |
| spellingShingle | Arthur de Fouchier Elise Fruitet Rik Lievers Peter Kuperus Jennifer Emerson Fred Gould David G. Heckel Astrid T. Groot Lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition Nature Communications |
| title | Lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition |
| title_full | Lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition |
| title_fullStr | Lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition |
| title_short | Lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition |
| title_sort | lipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43100-w |
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