Abstract
Forest production is antagonized by a variety of pest insects, including bark beetles and pine weevils that attack coniferous trees at increasing frequency due to climate change. Attacks are initiated and coordinated by means of odors from trees and conspecifics. Interestingly, different pest species and their predators use the same or very similar odors for host, mate, or prey recognition, and coordination of mass-attacks on trees. I will combine genomic, transcriptomic, and PCR-based methods to identify (Aim 1) and then phylogenetically analyze (Aim 2) the odorant receptors (ORs) in three species of bark beetle, the pine weevil, and a beetle predator. I will then use functional assays to identify the ORs for pheromones and tree volatiles detected by all five species (Aim 3). My studies will considerably improve our knowledge on evolution of odor recognition in beetles, as it will be the first to identify ORs for the same odors in distantly related species at different trophic levels. I will show if ORs for the same odors in different taxa share ancestry or if similar functions have evolved by convergent evolution. I will also reveal targets for innovative pest control, because essential ORs, such as pheromone ORs, can be screened with hundred thousands synthetic ligands to identify antagonists and more active or cheaper agonists, which can be used in the field to reduce reproduction and tree damage. The method was successfully deployed for ORs in mosquito disease vectors.
Sweden