Disruption of the odorant coreceptor Orco impairs foraging and host finding behaviors in the New World screwworm fly

Autor(es):Mostrar menos -

Paulo, Daniel F. ^[1] ; Junqueira, Ana C. M. ^[2] ; Arp, Alex P. ^[3] ; Vieira, Andre S. ^[4] ; Ceballos, Jorge ^[5] ; Skoda, Steven R. ^{[6, 7]} ; Perez-de-Leon, Adalberto A. ^[8] ; Sagel, Agustin ^{[6, 7]} ; McMillan, William O. ^[9] ; Scott, Maxwell J. ^[10] ; Concha, Carolina ^[9] ; Azeredo-Espin, Ana M. L. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Genet Evolut Microbiol & Immunol, UNICAMP, BR-13083875 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Fed Univ Rio de Janeiro UFRJ, Inst Biol, Dept Genet, BR-21941902 Rio De Janeiro, RJ - Brazil

^[3] USDA ARS, Knipling Bushland US Livestock Insects Res Lab &, Kerrville, TX 78028 - USA

^[4] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Struct & Funct Biol, UNICAMP, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[5] Smithsonian Trop Res Inst STRI, Microscopy Lab, Tupper Bldg, Panama City 084303092 - Panama

^[6] USDA ARS, Knipling Bushland US Livestock Insects Res Lab, Screwworm Res Site, Pacora - Panama

^[7] USDA ARS, Vet Pest Genom Ctr, Screwworm Res Site, Pacora - Panama

^[8] USDA ARS, San Joaquin Valley Agr Sci Ctr, Parlier, CA 93648 - USA

^[9] Smithsonian Trop Res Inst STRI, Lab Ecol & Evolutionary Genom, Gamboa - Panama

^[10] North Carolina State Univ, Dept Entomol & Plant Pathol, Campus Box 7613, Raleigh, NC 27695 - USA

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 11, n. 1 MAY 31 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

The evolution of obligate ectoparasitism in blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) has intrigued scientists for over a century, and surprisingly, the genetics underlying this lifestyle remain largely unknown. Blowflies use odors to locate food and oviposition sites; therefore, olfaction might have played a central role in niche specialization within the group. In insects, the coreceptor Orco is a required partner for all odorant receptors (ORs), a major gene family involved in olfactory-evoked behaviors. Hence, we characterized the Orco gene in the New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, a blowfly that is an obligate ectoparasite of warm-blooded animals. In contrast, most of the closely related blowflies are scavengers that lay their eggs on dead animals. We show that the screwworm Orco orthologue (ChomOrco) is highly conserved within Diptera, showing signals of strong purifying selection. Expression of ChomOrco is broadly detectable in chemosensory appendages, and is related to morphological, developmental, and behavioral aspects of the screwworm biology. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to disrupt ChomOrco and evaluate the consequences of losing the OR function on screwworm behavior. In two-choice assays, Orco mutants displayed an impaired response to floral-like and animal host-associated odors, suggesting that OR-mediated olfaction is involved in foraging and host-seeking behaviors in C. hominivorax. These results broaden our understanding of the chemoreception basis of niche occupancy by blowflies. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 14/15042-3 - Análise do perfil de expressão de microRNAs em diferentes fases do desenvolvimento da Mosca da Bicheira Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
• Beneficiário: Daniel Fernando Paulo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 15/02079-9 - Genômica da mosca-da-bicheira Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae): análise estrutural e funcional.
• Beneficiário: Ana Maria Lima de Azeredo-Espin
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 17/05432-7 - Desenvolvimento de uma Linhagem Mutante da Mosca da Bicheira para o Co-receptor Olfativo Utilizando o Sistema CRISPR/Cas9: Uma Investigação Funcional Acerca da Evolução da Percepção Olfativa na Família Calliphoridae.
• Beneficiário: Daniel Fernando Paulo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Exterior - Estágio de Pesquisa - Doutorado