Chemical Senses Advance Access published online on January 21, 2008
Chemical Senses, doi:10.1093/chemse/bjm087
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Differential Expression of SNMP-1 and SNMP-2 Proteins in Pheromone-Sensitive Hairs of Moths
1 Institute of Physiology (230), University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany 2 Bayer CropScience AG, Research Insecticides, Alfred-Nobel-Str. 50, 40789 Monheim, Germany
Correspondence to be sent to: Jürgen Krieger, Institute of Physiology (230), University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany. e-mail: krieger{at}uni-hohenheim.de
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Abstract |
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In moths the detection of female-released sex pheromones involves hairlike structures on the male antenna. These long sensilla trichodea usually contain 2–3 chemosensory neurons accompanied by several supporting cells. Previous studies have shown that the pheromone-specific neurons are characterized by a "sensory neuron membrane protein" (SNMP) which is homologous to the CD36 family and localized in the dendrite membrane. By employing the SNMP-2 sequence from Manduca sexta we have isolated cDNAs that encode SNMP-2 proteins from Heliothis virescens (HvirSNMP-2) and Antheraea polyphemus (ApolSNMP-2). To elucidate the topographic and cell type–specific expression of these SNMP subtypes, 2-color in situ hybridization experiments were performed with tissue sections through the male antennae. For H. virescens, a specific probe for the pheromone receptor HR13 was used to identify pheromone-responsive neurons. It was found that HvirSNMP-1 and HR13 were coexpressed in the same cells; in contrast, HvirSNMP-2 was not expressed in HR13 cells but rather in cells that surrounded the HR13 neurons, apparently the supporting cells. A corresponding expression pattern was also found for ApolSNMP-1 and ApolSNMP-2 on the antenna of male A. polyphemus. Our results indicate that SNMP-1s and SNMP-2s are differentially expressed in cells of pheromone-sensitive sensilla and suggest distinct functions for the 2 SNMP subtypes in the olfactory system.
Key words: antenna, insect olfaction, moth, pheromone detection, sensilla trichodea, sensory neuron membrane protein
Accepted 3 December 2007
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