| For insects, olfaction is an important signal input source for their behavioral perception. There are
many kinds of proteins involved in the process of odor recognition, and they play a leading role in regulating feeding,
swarming, mating, oviposition and other behaviors of insects. These proteins include Odorant-binding Proteins (OBPs),
Chemosensory Proteins (CSPs), Odorant Receptors (ORs), Ionotropic Receptors (IRs), Sensory Neuron Membrane Proteins
(SNMPs) and Odorant Degrading Enzyme (ODE). Among them, ORs play a critical role in identifying odor molecules and
transmitting olfactory signals downstream. The specific combination of odorant molecule and dendrites of olfactory sensory
neurons (OSNs) mediated by odorant receptors is an important basis for olfactory recognition. Odorant receptors involves two types: conventional odorant receptors (ORs), and odorant receptor coreceptor (ORCO). ORs, a highly divergent family of
receptors, have the ability to recognize odor molecule, and the homology is lower between different insects. ORCO, a receptor
without odor sensitivity, co-expresses with ORs to recognize odor molecule, and its sequence is remarkably conserved among
insect species. Cell line culture, voltage clamp technique and drosophila“empty neuron”method were used to verify the
function of odor receptors. Research about odor receptors’function can lay a theoretical foundation for looking for odor
ligands, development of food attractants and repellents against pests, sex attractants and aggregation pheromones and so
on. This article reviews the research progress in identification and classification, structure, expression profile, phylogenetic
relationships and function of odorant receptors in the domestic and overseas, which provides reference for the research of
insect olfactory mechanism as well as the prevention and control of pests. |
