A novel terpene synthase controls differences in anti-aphrodisiac pheromone production between closely related Heliconius butterflies

Plants and insects often use the same compounds for chemical communication, but not much is known about the genetics of convergent evolution of chemical signals. The terpene (E)-β-ocimene is a common component of floral scent and is also used by the butterfly Heliconius melpomene as an anti-aphrodis...

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Veröffentlicht in:PLoS biology 2021-01, Vol.19 (1), p.e3001022-e3001022
Hauptverfasser: Darragh, Kathy, Orteu, Anna, Black, Daniella, Byers, Kelsey J R P, Szczerbowski, Daiane, Warren, Ian A, Rastas, Pasi, Pinharanda, Ana, Davey, John W, Fernanda Garza, Sylvia, Abondano Almeida, Diana, Merrill, Richard M, McMillan, W Owen, Schulz, Stefan, Jiggins, Chris D
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Plants and insects often use the same compounds for chemical communication, but not much is known about the genetics of convergent evolution of chemical signals. The terpene (E)-β-ocimene is a common component of floral scent and is also used by the butterfly Heliconius melpomene as an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone. While the biosynthesis of terpenes has been described in plants and microorganisms, few terpene synthases (TPSs) have been identified in insects. Here, we study the recent divergence of 2 species, H. melpomene and Heliconius cydno, which differ in the presence of (E)-β-ocimene; combining linkage mapping, gene expression, and functional analyses, we identify 2 novel TPSs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that one, HmelOS, is able to synthesise (E)-β-ocimene in vitro. We find no evidence for TPS activity in HcydOS (HmelOS ortholog of H. cydno), suggesting that the loss of (E)-β-ocimene in this species is the result of coding, not regulatory, differences. The TPS enzymes we discovered are unrelated to previously described plant and insect TPSs, demonstrating that chemical convergence has independent evolutionary origins.
ISSN:1545-7885
1544-9173
1545-7885
DOI:10.1371/JOURNAL.PBIO.3001022