ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Ecol. Evol., 29 September 2017

Sec. Chemical Ecology

Volume 5 - 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2017.00115

Comparing the Expression of Olfaction-Related Genes in Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) Adult Females and Larvae from One Flightless and Two Flight-Capable Populations

  • 1. Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

  • 2. Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany

  • 3. Institute of Fundamental Sciences, College of Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract

In insects, flight and sophisticated olfactory systems go hand in hand and are essential to survival and evolutionary success. Females of many Lepidopteran species have secondarily lost their flight ability, which may lead to changes in the olfactory capabilities of both larval and adult stages. The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, an important forest pest worldwide, is currently undergoing a diversification process with three recognized subspecies: the Asian gypsy moth (AGM), Lymantria dispar asiatica; the Japanese gypsy moth (JGM), Lymantria dispar japonica; and the European gypsy moth (EGM), Lymantria dispar dispar. Females of EGM populations from North America have lost their flight capacity whereas the JGM and AGM females are flight capable, making this an ideal system to investigate the relationship between flight and olfaction. We used next-generation sequencing to obtain female antennal and larval head capsule transcriptomes in order to (i) investigate the differences in expression of olfaction-related genes among populations; (ii) identify the most similar protein sequences reported for other organisms through a BLAST search, and (iii) establish the phylogenetic relationships of these sequences with respect to other insect species. Using this approach, we identified 115 putative chemosensory genes belonging to five families of olfaction-related genes. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the gene-expression patterns of female antennal transcriptomes from different subspecies were more similar to one another than to the larval head capsules of their respective subspecies supporting strong chemosensory differences between the two developmental stages. An analysis of the shared and exclusively expressed genes for three populations shows no evidence that loss of flight affects the number or type of genes being expressed. These results indicate either (a) that loss of flight does not impact the olfactory gene repertoire or (b) that the secondary loss of flight in American EGM populations may be too recent to have caused major changes in the genes being expressed. However, we found higher expression values for most olfaction-related genes in EGM females, suggesting that differences in transcription rates could be an adaptation of flightless females to their chemical environment. Differences in olfactory genes and their expression in the larvae appear to be unrelated to the flight ability of adult females and are likely adaptations to different ecological pressures.

Introduction

Flight is a leading factor contributing to the evolutionary success of insect species, enabling them to locate food and shelter, avoid predation and competition, and search for optimal oviposition sites for their offspring (Barbosa et al., 1989; Sattler, 1991; Hunter, 1995). Since host–plant location and oviposition in herbivorous insects are largely mediated by chemical cues (Bruce et al., 2005; Bruce and Pickett, 2011; Mescher and De Moraes, 2015), one would expect the evolution of flight to be accompanied by the development of sophisticated olfactory systems. New evidence even suggests that the odorant receptor family (OR), central to the olfactory systems of highly derived insects, emerged around the same time as flight (Missbach et al., 2014; Ioannidis et al., 2017). Furthermore, manipulation of OR-based odor detection in Drosophila also indicates that ORs play an important role in flight orientation (Getahun et al., 2016).

The females of many Lepidopteran species have secondarily lost their ability to fly, shifting the responsibility of host selection partly or entirely to the larvae (Barbosa et al., 1989; Sattler, 1991; Hunter, 1995). In this context, it is interesting to investigate whether the loss of flight has an impact on the olfaction of adults and larvae. The gypsy moth Lymantria dispar is one of the most important forest pest species worldwide, currently undergoing a diversification process involving the loss of flight by females of some populations (Schweitzer, 2004; Pogue and Schaeffer, 2007). These features make L. dispar an ideal model to explore changes in expression of olfaction-related genes that are associated with flight ability.

The first chemosensory proteins (CSPs) from adult L. dispar were identified as early as 1989 (Vogt et al., 1989, 1991). Thereafter, Plettner and coworkers have made great contributions to our understanding of olfaction in this species, in particular concerning the structure and function of its pheromone binding proteins (Kowcun et al., 2001; Honson et al., 2003; Honson and Plettner, 2006; Plettner and Gries, 2010; Gong and Plettner, 2011; Yu and Plettner, 2013). Recently, the L. dispar olfactory co-receptor (ORCO), a crucial component of olfactory receptor complexes, has been identified (Vosshall and Hansson, 2011; Lin et al., 2015). However, knowledge about olfaction-related proteins and the genes encoding them remains fragmentary for this species.

The gypsy moth is a highly polyphagous herbivore, capable of causing severe and widespread outbreaks in temperate Holarctic regions. At present, there are three recognized subspecies: the Asian Gypsy moth (AGM) Lymantria dispar asiatica, the Japanese Gypsy moth (JGM) Lymantria dispar japonica, and the European Gypsy moth (EGM) Lymantria dispar dispar (which encompasses both European and North American Gypsy moth populations). European Gypsy moth females from North American populations are flightless, possibly due to a founder effect associated with their introduction from Europe in the mid nineteenth century. In contrast, the Asian and Japanese females can fly and disperse over extended distances (Barlow, 2004; NBII, 2011; APHIS, 2013).

The loss of flight in the EGM females restricts their ability to make host-plant choices, transferring the responsibility to the larvae, which disperse either passively through ballooning in the early instars or actively by crawling in the late instars (Capinera and Barbosa, 1976; Lance and Barbosa, 1981, 1982). The extent to which flight capable females are involved in host-plant choices is not yet fully understood, but evidence suggests that both AGM and JGM actively disperse and display oviposition preferences under field conditions (Baranchikov, 1989; Sasaki et al., 2016).

Several efforts have been made to better understand the taxonomic and biogeographic distribution of female flight ability, as well as its heritability and phenotypic plasticity (Keena et al., 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010). However, no studies have yet documented variation in the odor perception systems of L. dispar subspecies, despite the likelihood that such differences may accompany the loss of female flight. Therefore, the aims of this study were to (i) Investigate the differences in expression of olfaction-related genes among populations, (ii) identify the most similar protein sequences reported for other organisms through a BLAST search, and (iii) establish the phylogenetic relationships of these sequences with respect to other model insect species, most of which have fully sequenced genomes.

To fulfill these aims we focused on five groups of chemosensory gene families: odorant receptors (ORs), odorant binding proteins (OBPs), CSPs, gustatory receptors (GRs), and ionotropic receptors (IRs). ORs are expressed in the cell membranes of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) and are responsible for the detection of odor molecules (Sanchez-Gracia et al., 2009). In general, OSNs will express either ORs or IRs, with the latter mostly tuned to compounds of lower molecular weight (Hallem et al., 2004, 2006; Benton et al., 2009; Silbering et al., 2011). All analyzed Lepidoptera species possess more OR than IR types (Croset et al., 2010; Koenig et al., 2015; van Schooten et al., 2016), and these play a role in the detection of plant volatiles as well as pheromones (Nakagawa et al., 2005; Grosse-Wilde et al., 2006, 2007; Tanaka et al., 2009). In insects, OSNs associated with basiconic or trichoid sensilla express one OR gene, along with the co-receptor ORCO, which is highly conserved and broadly expressed (Krieger et al., 2003; Touhara and Vosshall, 2009). Insect ORs are seven-transmembrane domain receptors with inverted membrane topology and are not phylogenetically related to vertebrate ORs (Benton et al., 2006).

OBPs contribute to the sensitivity of the olfactory system by binding, solubilizing and transporting odorants through the sensillar lymph (Leal, 2013). CSPs are likely to perform similar roles in chemical communication of insects as OBPs, but unlike these are also expressed in non-chemosensory tissues, and for this reason have been hypothesized to serve additional, as yet undiscovered, functions (Pelosi et al., 2005). Recent evidence suggests that OBPs are an adaptation to the detection of hydrophobic volatiles that became available as olfactory cues in the course of insect terrestrialization (Missbach et al., 2015); however, results in Drosophila suggest a different function for some OBPs (Larter et al., 2016). Structurally, insect OBPs and CSPs generally contain α-helical domains, but folded in two different patterns (Sandler et al., 2000; Lartigue et al., 2002; Tegoni et al., 2004).

GRs are typically expressed in gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) within the taste sensillae in the mouthparts and are known to detect sugars, bitter compounds and non-volatile pheromones (Montell, 2013). However, some GR genes are also expressed in the antennae, suggesting that some members of this gene family may have an olfactory function (Hallem et al., 2006). This is further supported by the discovery of two GRs in Drosophila that act in the detection of CO2 (Yao and Carlson, 2010). GR proteins are highly divergent in sequence, sharing as little as 8% amino acid identity across insect species, and it has been hypothesized that the GR gene family is an ancient chemoreceptor family from which insect OR genes subsequently evolved (Robertson et al., 2003; Hallem et al., 2006; Benton, 2015).

IRs are also involved in chemoreception and comprise a large and highly diverse gene family closely related to ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluR), typically present in the OSNs associated with the coeloconic sensillae in the antennae (Rytz et al., 2013). Recent reports suggest there are multiple variant IRs with different ligand-binding domains that lack the characteristic glutamate-interacting residues (Benton et al., 2009). Unlike ORs, which are exclusively found in pterygote insects, IRs are present in all protostome species studied so far and may have evolved as long as 550–850 million years ago (Croset et al., 2010; Missbach et al., 2014). Similar iGluR-like genes are also present in plants, animals and prokaryotes, indicating that this is an important and ancient group of chemoreceptors (Benton et al., 2009; Rytz et al., 2013).

Materials and methods

Animals

Insects were provided as egg masses by Hannah Nadel, Supervisory Entomologist of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). All egg masses came from laboratory cultures that had been maintained using carefully designed mating protocols to avoid the deleterious effects of inbreeding depression, details on the rearing system utilized for these colonies can be found in (Bell et al., 1981). Upon hatching larvae were fed ad libitum on artificial wheat germ diet prepared according to manufacturer's instructions (MP Biomedicals LLC, Illkirch, France) and food was replaced twice per week. Caterpillars, pupae, and adult moths were maintained in a climate chamber at 20°C, 60% relative humidity and 16/8 h photoperiod.

The European gypsy moth (EGM) culture (Lymantria dispar dispar) originated from flightless L. dispar populations collected in New Jersey (US). The Japanese gypsy moth (JGM) culture (Lymantria dispar japonica), originated from flight-capable populations coming from the Northern Iwate district and Takizawa, Morika, Nishine (Japan). The AGM culture (Lymantria dispar asiatica) originated from flight-capable populations coming from the Primorskiy Krai ports (Vostochnyy, Slavyanka, Vladivostok, Nadhodka) in Russia.

RNA extraction

RNA extraction was performed following the same procedure as in Koenig et al. (2015), with minor changes as outlined below. Antennae of 50 adult female moths (1–2 days old) from each population were excised from the base of the antennal sclerite. Head capsules from 50 fifth instar larvae from each population were cut at the division point with the prothorax. Tissues were transferred to an Eppendorf tube, cooled with liquid nitrogen and stored at −86°C until extraction. For extraction, tissues were transferred into RL buffer (innuPREP RNA Mini Kit, Analytik Jena, Jena, Germany) and homogenized using a TissueLyser (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). The resultant homogenate was used with the innuPREP RNA Mini Kit (Analytik Jena, Jena, Germany) following the manufacturers protocol.

Sequencing, assembly, and annotation

Total RNA was sent to the Max Planck Genome Centre Cologne (Germany) for construction of TruSeq libraries and subsequent sequencing on an Illumina HiSeq3000. Read data was trimmed and cleaned by the Genome Centre using standard protocols. The resulting Illumina reads were assembled with CLC Genomics Workbench 8 (CLCbio), using the de novo algorithm and default parameters. Annotation was performed using Blast2GO 3 (Conesa et al., 2005; Götz et al., 2008). Additionally, assembled transcripts belonging to target chemosensory families (OR, OBP, IR, GR, and CSP) were identified by comparison against custom, manually curated databases created using the available literature on other Lepidopteran species (Wanner and Robertson, 2008; Grosse-Wilde et al., 2011; Heliconius-Genome-Consortium, 2012; Briscoe et al., 2013; Koenig et al., 2015).

Each of the predicted protein sequences was further compared to available sequences using the blastp algorithm and the nr database (NCBI)1 to identify the most similar sequence, the organism expressing it and its putative function. We only report sequences yielding significant (E < 0.05) similarity values.

Alignments and phylogenetic trees

Protein sequences conceptually translated from the assembled transcripts were aligned with homologs from Bombyx mori, Danaus plexippus, Heliconius melpomene, and Manduca sexta (Wanner and Robertson, 2008; Grosse-Wilde et al., 2011; Heliconius-Genome-Consortium, 2012; Briscoe et al., 2013; Koenig et al., 2015). In the case of GRs and ORs, sequences from the waterflea Daphnia pulex were also included as an outgroup (Peñalva-Arana et al., 2009). For the CSPs and OBPs we included sequences from the Jumping Bristletail Lepismachilis y-signata and the Firebrat Thermobia domestica (Missbach et al., 2015). In the case of IRs (and Glu-Rs) sequences from Drosophila melanogaster have been included (Rytz et al., 2013).

For this purpose, we used MAFFT version 7 (Katoh et al., 2002; Katoh and Standley, 2013) with the “-auto” option. Phylogenetic trees were derived using the program FastTree-2, which uses the maximum likelihood method with a Shimodaira-Hasegawa test to estimate branch support values (Price et al., 2010). Figures were prepared for publication using the FigTree software 1.4.1 (Rambaut, 2007, 2012).

Some transcripts, corresponding to pheromone binding proteins (PBPs), general odorant binding proteins (GOBPs), glutamate receptors (Glu-Rs and Nmdars = N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors) and the ORCO were tentatively labeled following the naming code of closely related sequences.

Quantification of gene expression

For the quantification of gene expression levels in the respective tissues/subspecies, the annotated assemblies were used as a template, mapping the raw reads and performing RPKM analysis in CLC Genomics Workbench 8 using default settings. PCA plots were based on normalized count data that was transformed using the regularized log function implemented by the R package DESeq2 (doi: 10.1186/s13059-014-0550-8).

Results

Gene identification and expression patterns for the three L. dispar populations

We used next generation sequencing to obtain transcriptome assemblies of adult female antennae and larval head capsules from EGM, AGM, and JGM populations of L. dispar. The assemblies contained 28,004, 33,208, and 30,820 unique transcripts for EGM, AGM, and JGM populations, respectively. Blastx of the assembled transcripts to the NCBI refseq protein database revealed that that 46.3% (EGM), 52.6% (AGM), and 49.3% (JGM) had high homology (E < 1e-5) to previously characterized proteins at NCBI. To ascertain the transcript coverage of each assembly, we used Blastx to find the proportion of B. mori proteins that aligned in a high scoring alignment. We chose B. mori because it has one of the best characterized genomes of the Lepidoptera. This analysis showed that an average L. dispar transcript encodes just over half the expected protein sequence based on the best blastx hit to B. mori, possibly due to a high proportion of partial sequences (Supplementary Figure 1).

From the assembled transcripts we were able to identify 115 putative chemosensory transcripts belonging to the five families, 22 CSPs, 32 OBPs (including 2 GOBPs, and four pheromone binding proteins), 11 GRs, 33 ORs, and 16 IRs (Table 1). In addition we report 6 glutamate receptors (which are not chemosensory receptors) (Table 1). Our results show that 42 olfaction-related genes are found in at least one population in both female antennae and larval head capsules, 52 are exclusive to the female antennae, and 20 to the larval head capsules. A large contribution to the transcripts that are exclusive to the female antennae comes from the ORs (Table 1). Figure 1 depicts the differences and commonalities in gene expression (presence/absence) among the three populations for each chemosensory gene family.

Table 1

Female antennaeLarval head capsule
Normalized gene expression (RPKM)Normalized gene expression (RPKM)
ContigIDJGMEGMAGMJGMEGMAGM
CSPs
58CSP110.8015.8433.019
282CSP20.230133.50870.81597.542
316CSP33.9001.60210.032
529CSP4362.721159.136149.850
546CSP50.363757.447586.861273.112
2133CSP644.78214.68529.899
3155CSP711.3266.89716.25997.599221.746319.770
4694CSP846.1710.352
4803CSP93.1401.9540.9036.6548.1873.721
4927CSP1033.25529.94213.669495.729630.862168.117
5687CSP111.2790.2391.54516.54112.3903.782
6311CSP121.2166.0568.222165.26823.11668.945
7764CSP13245.02289.839343.44639.86517.60481.919
9858CSP147.6843.1302.068
10611CSP1511.2470.7783.05613.12612.6132.014
11424CSP160.0840.3140.50915.545105.40966.088
14171CSP17299.65862.941191.35717.13517.7469.409
20492CSP181.2370.57214.7702.7869.797
21710CSP190.9352.9953.698
21764CSP20212.291152.58978.593
24844CSP210.5970.5450.768
28449CSP220.4380.2020.5190.5922.001
OBPs
15931PBP_A*36.828212.31754.3050.674
32039PBP_B*34.345294.22395.1890.098
32635PBP_C*0.60538.6214.354
33887PBP_D*2.01914.1403.050
34051PBP_E*0.831
17785GOBP_1*491.1903,382.465934.0721.5537.2083.330
20294GOBP_2*0.842
80OBP11.7050.9951.656495.20773.372228.343
81OBP228.6494.2382.320
1985OBP319.36030.76811.141182.02239.913135.044
2548OBP451.592695.792184.640117.613114.827150.618
4026OBP50.7665.2951.455
4999OBP678.013233.00999.36067.73833.24429.031
5449OBP741.716
5666OBP815.7161.9845.763
11687OBP90.2651.7560.935
12090OBP102.5556.3621.6349.1039.6958.236
18226OBP1120.8837.72322.590
19950OBP121.8772.203
19951OBP133.77210.8861.5171.170
24041OBP147.162
24520OBP150.1671.0890.1441.4741.1770.190
25516OBP161.7810.416
26082OBP171.317
26834OBP180.5540.570
26945OBP193.192
31544OBP200.9782.3446.919
33379OBP2148.640587.915112.3830.074
33405OBP2221.469132.30342.1600.593
33456OBP2339.212171.31494.6490.669
34786OBP2418.14265.44931.083
34788OBP253.579
GRs
587GR10.6055.0873.135140.32598.16364.391
23948GR20.4180.1300.6010.3081.7570.396
32417GR30.3740.3490.323
32835GR40.4710.436
33472GR50.5963.065
34141GR60.3721.5051.070
34172GR70.7602.1301.313
34277GR80.3370.623
34291GR91.2160.321
34451GR100.347
34464GR110.408
ORs
20670ORCO*0.1140.8183.0450.712
6380OR10.1972.1160.766
8989OR23.05812.0815.63522.20618.52013.248
15892OR30.2061.3490.713
17788OR41.7790.705
27443OR50.2390.6980.472
31928OR60.4572.2180.6311.617
32971OR70.0991.4731.1070.164
33087OR80.4640.429
33560OR91.4473.8601.6060.171
33844OR100.5770.3591.494
33855OR110.3833.3571.915
33861OR120.4090.756
33879OR130.7071.5410.814
33888OR140.3670.343
33903OR150.2232.2940.578
33963OR160.6610.9250.285
33998OR170.7591.4170.655
34011OR180.7611.7761.313
34012OR190.3782.4691.304
34122OR201.178
34175OR210.3760.325
34202OR220.3340.7791.440
34209OR230.9530.881
34210OR240.800
34217OR250.2291.2830.198
34226OR260.3070.8590.265
34270OR270.1501.1200.518
34280OR280.2910.808
34293OR290.3021.4120.914
34376OR301.0060.558
34421OR310.6931.068
34819OR320.884
34881OR331.346
IRs
2720IR16.30216.915
5445IR20.1160.7310.02510.52015.03513.301
6481IR36.003
8501IR40.9866.6277.0110.0220.3180.022
20445IR51.9155.6531.4930.0340.156
26528IR61.0286.6732.7960.1140.078
30320IR70.3232.4111.393
32336IR80.4231.5000.8030.280
32470IR90.4831.859
32618IR100.7200.3330.213
33239IR110.3912.0670.8990.144
33881IR121.4194.1421.021
33900IR131.14311.2033.233
34101IR140.2802.7891.611
34111IR150.5711.7771.314
34374IR160.5910.546
GluRs
1873Glu–RX.1*3.1760.11725.19928.60061.456
10442Glu-RX.2*0.0450.5478.46611.0928.378
10616Glu-RX.3*0.6768.7777.3747.925
17885Glu-RX.4*0.2780.6144.107
26117Nmdar1*0.2473.3691.0701.658
3548Nmdar2*0.6342.7480.6642.2281.5771.674

Normalized expression values (RPKM) for different families of chemosensory genes in the female antennae and larval head capsules of three populations of the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar.

*

Transcripts have been tentatively labeled following the naming code of closely related sequences (Figures 36).

CSP, Chemosensory protein; OBP, Odorant binding protein; GR, Gustatory receptor; OR, Odorant receptor; IR, Ionotropic receptor; Glu-R, Glutamate receptor; ORCO, Odorant receptor co-receptor; PBP, Pheromone binding protein; GOBP, General odorant binding protein; Nmdar, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor; JGM, Japanese gypsy moth; EGM, European gypsy moth and AGM; Asian gypsy moth. Values in bold represent higher expression values for the EGM females in comparison to JGM and AGM populations.

Figure 1

A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) comparing the gene expression patterns (Normalized gene expression values—RPKM) for the antennal and head capsule transcriptomes revealed that female antennal transcriptomes were clustered, being more similar to one another than to the larval transcriptomes of the same population. In contrast, larval transcriptomes were not clustered, but separated along the second component axis (Figure 2).

Figure 2

Best match with other protein sequences

After performing Blast searches with the individual protein sequences, we found that most putative L. dispar CSPs have a high sequence homology with those already published for a number of Lepidopteran species, the majority of which are Noctuid moths belonging to the genera Helicoverpa or Spodoptera (Table 2).

Table 2

IDBest match/nameSpeciesScoreE-valueAcc. Nr
CSPs
CSP1Chemosensory protein 1Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)1561E-45ALJ93810
CSP2Chemosensory protein 12Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1591E-46AKT26488
CSP3
CSP4Chemosensory protein 7Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)71.28E-14AKT26484
CSP5Chemosensory protein 24Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lep:Cra)1312E-36ALT31606
CSP6Chemosensory proteinHelicoverpa assulta (Lep:Noc)1501E-43ABB91378
CSP7chemosensory protein 10Helicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)2142E-68AFR92094
CSP8Chemosensory protein 12Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1322E-36AKT26488
CSP9Chemosensory protein 16Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1953E-61AKT26491
CSP10Chemosensory protein 12Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1444E-41AKT26488
CSP11Chemosensory protein 5Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1821E-55AKT26482
CSP12Chemosensory proteinHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)1823E-56AIW65100
CSP13
CSP14Chemosensory protein 12Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1611E-47AKT26488
CSP15Chemosensory protein 25Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lep:Cra)1892E-58ALT31607
CSP16
CSP17Chemosensory protein 27, partialCnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lep:Cra)1827E-56ALT31609
CSP18Putative chemosensory proteinSesamia inferens (Lep:Noc)97.45E-23AGY49263
CSP19Hypothetical protein KGM_11196Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lep:Cra)1521E-43EHJ76400
CSP20Bulb-specific protein 3-likePapilio machaon (Lep:Pap)82.82E-17XP_014365701
CSP21
CSP22Chemosensory proteinPapilio xuthus (Lep:Pap)1012E-24BAF91714
OBPs
PBP_A*Pheromone binding protein 1 precursorSesamia nonagrioides (Lep:Noc)1653E-48AAS49922
PBP_B*Pheromone binding proteinHeliothis virescens (Lep:Noc)1891E-57CAA65604
PBP_C*Pheromone-binding protein 3Spodoptera litura (Lep:Noc)2084E-65AIS72934
PBP_D*Pheromone binding protein 2Epiphyas postvittana (Lep:Tot)88.65E-20AAL05868
PBP_E*Pheromone binding protein 3Sesamia inferens (Lep:Noc)49.3–006AEQ30020
GOBP1*General odorant-binding protein 2Heliothis virescens (Lep:Noc)4243E-134Q27288
GOBP2*
OBP1Odorant binding proteinSpodoptera frugiperda (Lep:Noc)1392E-38AAR28762
OBP2Odorant binding proteinSpodoptera frugiperda (Lep:Noc)1334E-36AAR28762
OBP3Odorant binding proteinSpodoptera frugiperda (Lep:Noc)1413E-39AAR28762
OBP4SericotropinGalleria mellonella (Lep:Pyr)2487E-81AAA85090
OBP5
OBP6Odorant binding protein 26Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1903E-58AKT26503
OBP7SericotropinGalleria mellonella (Lep:Pyr)1447E-41AAA85090
OBP8Odorant binding protein 26Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1255E-33AKT26503
OBP9Odorant binding proteinSpodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)65.15E-11ADY17886
OBP10Odorant binding proteinDendrolimus houi (Lep:Las)1602E-46AII00969
OBP11Odorant binding protein 26Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)1415E-39AKT26503
OBP12
OBP13Odorant binding protein 26, partialSpodoptera litura (Lep:Noc)1198E-33ALD65900
OBP14Odorant binding protein 26Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)89.42E-19AKT26503
OBP15
OBP16
OBP17AGH70102
OBP18Odorant binding protein 9Spodoptera exigua (Lep:Noc)75.18E-15AGP03455
OBP19
OBP20Odorant binding protein 44a, isoform ADrosophila melanogaster (Dip:Dro)4563E-148NP_610358
OBP21Odorant binding protein 3Spodoptera litura (Lep:Noc)2751E-80AKI87964
OBP22General odorant binding protein 72-likePapilio machaon (Lep:Pap)1764E-53XP_014369849
OBP23Odorant binding protein 4Spodoptera litura (Lep:Noc)1847E-56AKI87965
OBP24Odorant binding protein 13Helicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)2534E-72AEB54588
OBP25Odorant binding protein 1Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lep:Cra)1262E-34AFG72998
GRs
GR1Uncharacterized protein LOC106133470 (pred)Amyelois transitella (Lep:Pyr)1615E-48XP_013188656
GR2Ecdysis triggering hormone receptor subtype-AManduca sexta (Lep:Sph)5350AAX19163
GR3Gustatory receptor 3, partialAthetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)1955E-60ALM26253
GR4Olfactory receptor 1Diaphania indica (Lep:Cra)84.38E-17BAG71417
GR5Olfactory receptor 4, partialHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)1606E-45ACF32962
GR6Odorant receptor 47, partialAthetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)3178E-102ALM26237
GR7Odorant receptorDendrolimus kikuchii (Lep:Las)4903E-169AII01083
GR8Gustatory and odorant receptor 24-like (pred)Plutella xylostella (Lep:Plu)1922E-58XP_011558384
GR9Odorant receptorDendrolimus kikuchii (Lep:Las)3105E-98AII01083
GR10Odorant receptorDendrolimus kikuchii (Lep:Las)1369E-36AII01090
GR11Odorant receptor, partialHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)1162E-28AIG51896
ORs
ORCO*Protein trapped in endoderm-1 isoform X2 (pred)Amyelois transitella (Lep:Pyr)3498E-117XP_013188595
OR1Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)4264E-143AIG51860
OR2Ecdysis triggering hormone receptor subtype-AManduca sexta (Lep:Sph)5350AAX19163
OR3Putative odorant receptorSesamia inferens (Lep:Noc)5096E-175AGY14579
OR4Odorant receptor, partialHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)59.76E-6AIG51896
OR5Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)86.72E-17AIG51875
OR6Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)3352E-109AIG51898
OR7Putative odorant-binding proteinHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)1693E-51AEJ90553
OR8Putative odorant receptor, partialSesamia inferens (Lep:Noc)2862E-92AGY14577
OR9Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)6200AIG51879
OR10Putative olfactory receptor 12Spodoptera litura (Lep:Noc)2749E-86AGG08878
OR11Olfactory receptor 10Helicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)4683E-160AJG42376
OR12Putative odorant receptor, partialSesamia inferens (Lep:Noc)1355E-39AGY14575
OR13Odorant receptor 28Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)2549E-80ALM26217
OR14Putative olfactory receptor 21, partialOstrinia furnacalis (Lep:Cra)1478E-40BAR43463
OR15Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)1889E-55AIG51873
OR16Odorant receptor 21Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)1496E-41ALM26210
OR17Odorant receptor 30a-like (predicted)Papilio machaon (Lep:Pap)98.66E-22XP_014367947
OR18Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)3452E-114AIG51887
OR19Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)2689E-85AIG51887
OR20Olfactory receptor 12, partialHelicoverpa assulta (Lep:Noc)1066E-27AJD81550
OR21Putative odorant receptor, partialSesamia inferens (Lep:Noc)1044E-26AGY14570
OR22Odorant receptor 35Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)3771E-127ALM26225
OR23Uncharacterized protein LOC106129649 (predicted)Amyelois transitella (Lep:Pyr)1851E-53XP_013183708
OR24Olfactory receptor 29Manduca sexta (Lep:Sph)1403E-37CUQ99410
OR25Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)1305E-33AIG51892
OR26Odorant receptor, partialHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)2212E-69AIG51901
OR27Odorant receptor 41Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)3745E-125ALM26231
OR28Odorant receptor, partialHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)1933E-57AIG51872
OR29Olfactory receptor 56Bombyx mori (Lep:Bom)1693E-47NP_001166617
OR30Odorant receptor 8Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)2638E-83ALM26196
OR31Odorant receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)2734E-87AIG51887
OR32Odorant receptor 54, partialManduca sexta (Lep:Sph)1479E-41AFL70817
OR33Putative olfactory receptor 44Spodoptera litura (Lep:Noc)3284E-108AGG08877
IRs
IR1
IR2Uncharacterized protein LOC106140681, partial (pred)Amyelois transitella (Lep:Pyr)60.11E-5XP_013197760
IR3
IR4Ionotropic receptor 8a.1Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)15380ALM24945
IR5Ionotropic receptor 76b, partialHelicoverpa assulta (Lep:Noc)8020AJD81640
IR6Ionotropic receptor 21a.3Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)1691E-45ALM24946
IR7Ionotropic receptor 25a, partialHelicoverpa assulta (Lep:Noc)7460AJD81628
IR8Ionotropic receptorOstrinia furnacalis (Lep:Cram)8150BAR64811
IR9
IR10Ionotropic receptor 75d, partialHelicoverpa assulta (Lep:Noc)1675E-49AJD81642
IR11Ionotropic receptor 25a, partialHelicoverpa assulta (Lep:Noc)7020AJD81628
IR12Ionotropic receptor 75q.2Athetis dissimilis (Lep:Noc)9060ALM24940
IR13Glutamate receptor (pred)Bombyx mori (Lep:Bom)9000XP_012551951
IR14Ionotropic receptor 31aHeliconius melpomene rosina (Lep:Nym)4982E-167AMM70660
IR15Ionotropic receptor 75q.1, partialHelicoverpa assulta (Lep:Noc)2901E-93AJD81638
IR16Putative ionotropic receptor, partialSesamia inferens (Lep:Noc)2066E-65AGY49252
Glu-R
Glu-RX.1*Glutamate receptor ionotropic, kainate 2-like (pred)Amyelois transitella (Lep:Pyr)4941E-163XP_013189500
Glu-RX.2*Ionotropic glutamate receptorHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)12060AIG51930
Glu-RX.3*Glutamate receptor ionotropic, kainate 2-like (pred)Amyelois transitella (Lep:Pyr)10950XP_013191608
Glu-RX.4*Glutamate receptor ionotropic, kainate 2 (pred)Plutella xylostella (Lep:Plu)3317E-105XP_011555112
Nmdar1*Glutamate [NMDA] receptor subunit 1 (pred)Bombyx mori (Lep:Bom)5460XP_012550364
Nmdar2*Ionotropic glutamate receptor, partialHelicoverpa armigera (Lep:Noc)17700AIG51931

List of L. dispar transcripts putatively involved in chemoreception, and characterization for the best hit after comparison with available protein sequences using the BlastP algorithm.

*

Transcripts have been tentatively labeled following the naming code of closely related sequences (see Figures 36). CSP, Chemosensory protein; GR, Gustatory receptor; IR, Ionotropic receptor; OBP, Odorant binding protein; OR, Odorant receptor; ORCO, Odorant receptor co-receptor; PBP, Pheromone binding protein; GOBP, General odorant binding protein; Glu-R, Glutamate receptor; Nmdar, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. Only reports yielding significant values (E-value) are shown.

Phylogenetic positioning of putative protein sequences

We constructed phylogenetic trees from alignments of the L. dispar CSPs with other published sequences from model insect species (B. mori, H. melpomene, M. sexta, and D. plexippus, D. pulex, L. y-signata, T. domestica, and D. melanogaster). Fasta sequences used to construct the trees can be found in Supplementary Files 14.

The phylogenetic trees showed that CSPs aligned well within the published sequences, but in a few cases formed clusters containing only L. dispar sequences (e.g., CSPs 3, 16, 13, 21; CSPs 2, 8, 14, and 10; CSPs 5, 4, 1) (Figure 3). For OBPs most sequences were closely related to those reported for the model species, except OBPs 10, 3, 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, and 14 forming a branch unique to L. dispar and a few others forming single nodes (e.g., OBP11) (Figure 4).

Figure 3

Figure 4

In the case of the GRs and ORs, sequences are remarkably well nested within those of model species. Of particular interest is GR2 making a single node, and branch containing GR1 and ORs 2 and 4 unique to L. dispar (Figure 5). For most IRs, we found that the candidate gene sequences were partially aligned with those of the model species, with a few sequences (e.g., IR2) forming single nodes. Most Glu-Rs formed a branch unique to L. dispar (Figure 6).

Figure 5

Figure 6

Discussion

In recent years, considerable progress has been made in our understanding of insect olfaction. Antennal transcriptomes are available for insect species belonging to several orders, including Diptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera (Grosse-Wilde et al., 2011; Andersson et al., 2013; Rinker et al., 2013; Leitch et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2015). Within the Lepidoptera, the transcriptomes of model species such as B. mori, D. plexippus, H. melpomene, H. virescens, and M. sexta have been thoroughly investigated (Krieger et al., 2003, 2004; Nakagawa et al., 2005; Wanner et al., 2007; Wanner and Robertson, 2008; Tanaka et al., 2009; Briscoe et al., 2013; Koenig et al., 2015; van Schooten et al., 2016).

This knowledge is rapidly expanding to other economically important species like Helicoverpa armigera, Cydia pomonella, and Spodoptera littoralis, where it could greatly aid in improving already existing and developing new semiochemical-based management strategies (Bengtsson et al., 2012; Jacquin-Joly et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2012). This report represents an expansive characterization of the chemosensory transcripts and their encoded proteins of L. dispar, and increases the number of available olfactory-related sequences for Lepidopteran species of agricultural relevance. Our results may also help unveil how the expression of chemosensory genes changes throughout insect development and as a result of speciation processes, together with similar reports for other species (Poivet et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2014, 2015; Walker et al., 2016).

We identified a total of 115 putative olfactory transcripts for L. dispar. This number is similar to the one reported on a previous study comparing S. littoralis adult antennae and larval head capsules (127) (Poivet et al., 2013), and another study investigating the adult antennal transcriptome of H. armigera (131), and H. assulta (129) (the latter did not include GRs and we excluded sensory neuron membrane proteins from the total count) (Zhang et al., 2014). The conserved number of olfaction-related genes suggests a core group of genes control olfaction in moth species belonging to the superfamily Noctuoidea (Kristensen et al., 2007; Zahiri et al., 2011). Given the similar number of genes across these species, we could speculate that olfactory differences emerge as a product of functional diversification, while the genes themselves are products of duplication. However, at this stage we can't rule out specific expansions of certain gene clusters balanced by contraction in others, and the evaluation of this possibility must await a more detailed understanding of olfactory differences in the Noctuoidea.

A study investigating expression patterns between adults and larvae of S. littoralis found that adults and larvae express similar numbers of OBPs and CSPs, while the caterpillar OR and IR repertoires were much smaller than the adult ones, and some GRs were found to be adult-specific (Poivet et al., 2013). We also encountered a similar number of CSPs being expressed in both stages and reduced IR, OR, and GR repertoires in the larval stages. However, in contrast to the previous study, we found that larvae had a higher CSP repertoire than adults including eight larval-specific genes. This pattern could reflect species-specific adaptations since in S. littoralis host-plant selection is mainly accomplished by adult females, who make suitable choices for the larvae as eclosion occurs rapidly after egg laying (Anderson and Alborn, 1999; Proffit et al., 2015). In contrast, L. dispar eggs of all populations undergo an overwintering process accompanied by changes in the distribution and quality of the resources from oviposition until larval hatching (Barbosa et al., 1989; Sattler, 1991; Hunter, 1995). Therefore, larval stages need to make host-choices to a greater or lesser extent, which may explain the observed differences in the number of CSP genes being expressed in the larval stages.

The strong reduction in the ORs in larvae vs. adults seems to be commonplace in insects and has been reported for a number of species, including D. melanogaster, Aedes aegypti, M. sexta, and B. mori (Hallem et al., 2004; Kreher et al., 2005; Bohbot et al., 2007; Tanaka et al., 2009; Koenig et al., 2015). In L. dispar, this reduction is quite dramatic, with only six ORs being expressed in the larvae vs. 35 in the female antennae. Results from the PCA analysis indicate that gene expression patterns of female antennal transcriptomes from different subspecies are more similar to one another than to the larval head capsules of their respective subspecies, further supporting strong differences in chemosensory perception between adult and larval stages.

After exploring the amount of shared and exclusively expressed genes for three populations (Figure 1), we observed that AGM and EGM populations share a high number of commonly expressed genes, whereas the JGM population appears to be more divergent, having a high number (14) of uniquely expressed genes. These results suggest that the observed differences are unrelated to flight capacity, indicating either that (a) loss of flight does not impact the olfactory gene repertoire or (b) the secondary loss of flight in the American EGM populations may be too recent to have caused major changes in the genes being expressed.

Interestingly, females from the flightless EGM population display higher gene expression values (RPKM) when compared with JGM and AGM females for most olfaction-related genes except CSPs (Table 1). This could indicate that changes in transcription rates could play an important role in the adaptation of flightless females to their chemical environment. The high variability in olfactory genes and their expression in the larvae suggest that these patterns are unrelated to loss of flight, and we speculate that they are rather adaptations to different ecological pressures.

A detailed comparison of the protein sequences with those reported for other Lepidopteran species through Blast searches and phylogenetic trees supports the common ancestry and high degree of conservation for most olfaction-related gene families within the Lepidoptera, and reveals a high sequence similarity between L. dispar and other members of the Noctuidae clade, particularly for ORs and GRs. A recent study investigating the evolution of these chemoreceptors in the Lepidoptera suggests that the common ancestor of this clade harbored only few OR and GR genes, and that while the number of genes increased greatly during the evolution of the clade, it remained relatively low in comparison to other insect groups. This high degree of conservation possibly occurred because olfaction-related gene expression in the Lepidoptera is under strict regulatory control, limiting the establishment of newly emerged genes (Engsontia et al., 2014).

Although most of our candidate sequences had close alignments with those reported for other model species, a few cases remain where L. dispar sequences were observed to form clusters or single nodes. Further studies are required to confirm the identity of these sequences and establish whether lineage-specific gene expansion occurs in the Lymantriinae clade (including closely related species such as the douglas-fir tussock moth Orgyia pseudotsugata and the nun moth Lymantria monacha) or the superfamily Noctuoidea (including more distantly related species such as Spodoptera spp. and Helicoverpa spp.).

Conclusions

This work represents the most complete description of chemosensory genes and proteins for L. dispar to date. Our results reveal differential gene expression between adult and larval stages characterized by fewer IR, OR, and GR genes being expressed in the larvae, but more CSP genes in comparison to the adults. Comparisons of protein sequences with those from other Lepidopteran species and organisms from different taxa support the common ancestry and high degree of conservation for most olfaction-related gene families. The gene expression patterns in female antennae are more similar to one another than they are to their respective larval stages, whereas larval gene expression patterns are highly divergent across populations. After exploring the number of unique and commonly expressed genes, AGM and EGM populations were found to share a high number of commonly expressed genes, whereas the JGM population appeared to be more divergent. These results indicate that either (a) loss of flight does not impact the olfactory gene repertoire or (b) the secondary loss of flight in American EGM populations may be too recent to cause major changes in the genes being expressed. Nevertheless, higher expression values for GRs, IRs, OBPs, and ORs in EGM females suggest that differences in transcription rates could be an adaptation of flightless females to their chemical environment. Differences in the larval olfactory-related gene expression, on the other hand, are likely responses to unique ecological pressures rather than to female flight ability. Further studies are required to understand the deeper evolutionary and ecological significance of these findings.

Statements

Author contributions

AC, EG, CD, MM, and BH designed research; AC and EG collected data; AC, EG, and DW analyzed data; all authors contributed to the writing process. All authors read and approved the submitted version.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to Hannah Nadel, Supervisory Entomologist of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for providing the insects used in this study. We would also like to acknowledge the reviewers for their constructive criticism and valuable suggestions.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2017.00115/full#supplementary-material

Supplementary Figure 1

Percent of Bombyx mori protein recovery in a blast search for three subspecies of the Gypsy moth (L. dispar). The flight capable AGM (Asian gypsy moth) and JGM (Japanese gypsy moth), and the flightless EGM (European gypsy moth).

Footnotes

1.^NCBI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/ Accessed 02.02.2017.

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Summary

Keywords

Lymantria dispar, transcriptome, odorant receptor, ionotropic receptor, gustatory receptor, odorant binding protein, chemosensory protein

Citation

Clavijo McCormick A, Grosse-Wilde E, Wheeler D, Mescher MC, Hansson BS and De Moraes CM (2017) Comparing the Expression of Olfaction-Related Genes in Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) Adult Females and Larvae from One Flightless and Two Flight-Capable Populations. Front. Ecol. Evol. 5:115. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00115

Received

09 June 2017

Accepted

12 September 2017

Published

29 September 2017

Volume

5 - 2017

Edited by

Stefano Colazza, University of Palermo, Italy

Reviewed by

Julien Pelletier, Keele University, United Kingdom; Nicolas Montagné, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France

Updates

Copyright

*Correspondence: Consuelo M. De Moraes

†Present Address: Andrea Clavijo McCormick, Massey University, Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Palmerston North, New Zealand

This article was submitted to Chemical Ecology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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