Candidate odorant‐binding protein and chemosensory protein genes in the turnip aphidLipaphis erysimi

Abstract

AbstractThe turnip aphid,Lipaphis erysimiKaltenbach, inflicts heavy damage on cruciferous crops worldwide. In these insects, olfactory perception is crucial for mating, host location, and oviposition. Both odorant‐binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are responsible for the delivery of host odorants and pheromones during initial molecular interactions. In this study, antennal and body transcriptomes ofL. erysimiwere generated through the deep sequencing of RNA libraries. A dataset of 11LeryOBPand fourLeryCSPtranscripts was identified among assembled unigenes and subjected to sequence analysis. Phylogenetic analysis found a one‐to‐one orthologous relationship between LeryOBP/LeryCSP and its corresponding homologs from other aphid species. Further quantitative real‐time PCR analyses across developmental stages and tissues showed that fiveLeryOBPgenes (i.e.,LeryGOBP,LeryOBP6,LeryOBP7,LeryOBP9, andLeryOBP13) andLeryCSP10were specifically or significantly elevated in the antennae compared with other tissues. Moreover, two transcripts (i.e.,LeryGOBPandLeryOBP6) exhibited remarkably higher expression levels in alate aphids, implying their potentially functional role in the perception of new host plant locations. These results present the identification and expression of OBP/CSP genes inL. erysimi, providing valuable insights into their putative role in olfactory signal transduction.