Identification of the differences in olfactory system between male and female oriental tobacco budworm Helicoverpa assulta

The olfactory system of insects facilitates their search for host and mates, hence it plays an essential role for insect survival and reproduction. Insects recognize odor substances through olfactory neurons and olfactory genes. Previous studies showed that there are significant sex‐specific differences in how insects identify odorant substances, especially sex pheromones. However, whether the sex‐specific recognition of odorant substances is caused by differences in the expression of olfaction‐related genes between males and females remains unclear. To clarify this problem, the whole transcriptome sequence of the adult Helicoverpa assulta, an important agricultural pest of tobacco and other Solanaceae plants, was obtained using Pacbio sequencing. RNA‐seq analysis showed that there were 27 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 24 chemosensory proteins, 4 pheromone‐binding proteins (PBPs), 68 odorant receptors and 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) genes, that were expressed in the antennae of male and female H. assulta. Females had significantly higher expression of General odorant‐binding protein 1‐like, OBP, OBP3, PBP3 and SNMP1 than males, while males had significantly higher expression of GOBP1, OBP7, OBP13, PBP2 and SNMP2. These results improve our understanding of mate search and host differentiation in H. assulta. Analysis of the differential expression of olfactory genes in the antennae of male and female H. assulta. (a) According to the annotation results of the NR database, the proportion of different species on the isoform annotation is counted, and thespecies distribution map is drawn. (b) Venn diagram of differentially expressed genes in females and males of H. assulta （c）Volcano map of differentially expressed genes between female and male antennae of H. assulta. Highlights 1. The whole transcriptome sequence of the adult Helicoverpa assulta. 2. Olfactory genes expressed in the antennae of male and female H. assulta. 3. The ability of insects to find their hosts.