昆虫外周嗅觉系统研究进展

Advance in the research on insect peripheral olfactory system

嗅觉作为昆虫感知外界环境的主要手段之一,在觅食、防御、交配、繁殖、信息交流及栖息地选择等方面起着十分重要的作用。研究环境中或来自生物体的气味分子作用于昆虫感觉器官引起昆虫产生行为反应的机制,有助于人们了解昆虫的寄主识别、种间互作和种内交流等行为及制定害虫治理和益虫保护等策略。本文对昆虫嗅觉系统中气味分子的传导过程,及外周嗅觉系统相关蛋白的功能及研究现状进行综述。气味分子通过嗅觉感受器进入外周嗅觉系统,进而转化为电信号进入中枢神经系统进行加工处理。气味结合蛋白与气味分子进行结合,并将其运输到气味受体;化学感受蛋白也能够与气味分子结合,但其在昆虫体内具有更为广泛的功能;气味受体具有识别气味结合蛋白或化学感受蛋白传递而来的气味分子的功能,并将这种化学信号转化为电信号;离子受体在外周嗅觉系统具有和气味受体相似的作用,但其气味反应谱更窄;感觉神经元膜蛋白在气味分子的传递过程中可能起到的重要作用;气味降解酶也存在多种降解气味分子的假说。通过对昆虫外周嗅觉系统的研究进展进行梳理,为今后研究昆虫外周嗅觉系统提供参考。

As one of the most important methods to apperceive the environments,olfaction plays a crucial role in foraging,defense,mating,reproduction,information communication,and habitat selection of insects.To investigate the mechanism of how odorants from the environments or organisms act on sense organ of insects and elicit behavior response will help us understand the behavior of insects,such as host recognition,interspecific interaction and intraspecific communication,and develop strategies for pest management and beneficial insect protection.This paper reviews the advance in the research on the odorant transduction of insect peripheral olfactory system,and the function of related proteins.Through the olfactory receptor,odorants get into the peripheral olfactory system,and then convert into electrical signals for processing in the central nervous system.The odorant‐binding proteins bind with the odorants and transport them to odorant receptors.The chemosensory proteins can also bind with the odorants,but the chemosensory proteins have a broader range of functions in insects.The odorant receptors can recognize the odorants transferred from odorant‐binding proteins or chemosensory proteins,and convert the chemical signals into electrical signals.The ionotropic receptors have similar effects on odorant receptors in insect peripheral olfactory system,but the ionotropic receptors have a much narrower response spectrum of odorants.The sensory neuron membrane proteins may play an important role in the transmission of odorants.And the odorant‐degrading enzymes also have multiple hypotheses for degrading odorants.Combing the progress in the research on insect peripheral olfactory system would provide some references for further study of insect peripheral olfactory system.