Deorphanization of Pheromone Receptors and Discovery of a Novel Agonist for Sex Pheromone Communication in Diamondback Moths

Sex pheromone communication is an essential component of mate recognition in moths. In this study, we heterologously expressed male-biased pheromone receptors (PRs) of diamondback moths, <i>Plutella xylostella,</i> in <i>Drosophila</i> OR67d neurons and determined their responses toward sex pheromonal compounds. The neurons expressing PxylOR59, PxylOR13, and PxylOR46 specifically responded to three sex pheromone components, Z11-16:Ald, Z11-16:Ac, and Z11-16:OH, respectively. The most effective ligands of other three PRs, PxylOR47, PxylOR49, and PxylOR73 were Z11-14:Ac, Z9,E12-14:Ac, and Z9,E11-14:Ac, respectively. Interestingly, the last two PRs were also tuned to Z11-14:Ac, which was not present in the pheromone glandular extract of <i>P. xylostella</i> in previous studies. Y-tube olfactometer assays revealed that the sex pheromone blend mixed with Z11-14:Ac at a ratio of 100:0.1 attracted more virgin males compared to the sex pheromone blend. These findings improve our understanding of the olfactory coding mechanisms in this important pest and provide promising potential for enhancing insect capture of pheromone traps.