BookJean-François Picimbon, editor.
Summary: Most of all insect species respond to odor messages they exchange consciously. This is due to the existence of thousands of olfactory sensilla covering the antennal branches and thousands of nerve cells that will transmit the odor signal towards specific parts of the insect brain. Pheromones, pheromone regulatory pathways, pheromone-sensitive nerve cells, pheromone receptors and pheromone-binding proteins appear on this volume 2 as a prerequisite not only for fundamental knowledge in olfactory processes but also for applied research and insect control. The pheromone or olfactory concepts, exposed here in nocturnal species of moths, mainly deal with the phenomenal expansion of some specific insects, invasive pest species that have severe impacts on agriculture and/or human health. However, the olfactory concepts exposed on the whole book must be brought further, before the shrinkage of some other more beneficial species such as the honeybees. Like many other species (butterflies, crickets, ladybugs and other flying insects), the bees are disappearing or show signs of a fast and significant decline in hive population, as an example of the serious decline of flora and fauna due to our industrialized agriculture. In this no-choice situation, new concepts of pest control alternative to insecticides are required to stop the serious general disappearing of insects that are pollinators of flowers but also important ecological factors (e.g. as food sources or material converters). The present situation is very alarming for a nature at risk of losing a biodiversity and the ecological equilibrium that it has taken so long to build. We belong to the Quaternary (fourth) geological era, the "Age of Mammals", the Cenozoic era of evolution that describes 60 My, from the birth of the flower and the bee to the modern days. In a close future, Men of the current time period, i.e the 21st century, may soon enter a new historical era, which may lead to its own extinction. Would this be the price to pay to preserve or rebuild those interactions so crucial for the life on earth?
Contents:
Intro; Foreword; Book Abstract; Contents; Contributors; About the Editor; Conference, Scientific Seminar, and Public Audience to Science; Selected Publications (Chemosensory Proteins and RNA Mutations);
Chapter 1: Responses of Insect Olfactory Neurons to Single Pheromone Molecules; 1 Introduction; 2 The Olfactory Threshold of Moths; 3 ERPs and Bumps; 4 Electrical Circuit Analysis; 5 Kinetic Model; 6 Variation of ERPs; 7 Possible Mechanisms of Pheromone Response Modulation; 8 Effects on the ERP by Blocking Agents and Pheromone Derivatives; 9 Smooth Responses in Non-pheromone Neurons 10 Elementary Responses of Insect Photoreceptor Cells11 Elementary Responses in Vertebrate Olfactory Neurons; 12 Concluding Remarks; References;
Chapter 2: Olfactory Systems in Insects: Similarities and Differences Between Species; 1 The Sensory Organs; 1.1 Number of Odor-Binding Proteins (OBPs); 1.2 Number of Odorant Receptor Neurons (ORNs); 1.3 Number of Odorant Receptors (ORs); 2 The Antennal Lobe (AL); 3 Types of Antennal Lobe Neurons; 3.1 Local Neurons (LNs); 3.2 Projection Neurons (PNs); 3.3 Other Neurons Innervating the Antennal Lobe; 4 The Mushroom Body (MB) 2.1 Identification of Odorant Receptors (ORs)2.2 Repertoires and Evolution of Insect Odorant Receptors; 2.3 Receptors for Pheromones; 2.4 Expression Patterns of Odorant Receptors; 2.5 Ligand Specificity of Odorant Receptors and Interplay with OBPs and SNMP1; 2.6 Receptor-Mediated Signal Transduction Processes; 3 Gustatory Receptors: Receptors for CO2 and Odorants; 4 Ionotropic Receptors; 5 Concluding Remarks; References;
Chapter 5: Diversity of Biotransformation Enzymes in Insect Antennae: Possible Roles in Odorant Inactivation and Xenobiotic Processing; 1 Introduction 3.2 Do The Less Potent Ligands (Secondary Odorants) Have Biological Implications?3.3 Co-location of Particular Receptor Neuron Types; 3.4 Moths Have Specialized OSNs Tuned to Caterpillar-Induced Compounds; 3.5 The Particular Case of Linalool; 4 Comparative and Evolutionary Aspects; 5 Relevance to Pest Management; 6 Central Pathways, Coding and Processing of Plant Odor Information; 7 Plasticity and Modulation of Olfactory Signaling; 8 General Considerations; References;
Chapter 4: Molecular Mechanism of Insect Olfaction: Olfactory Receptors; 1 Introduction; 2 Insect Odorant Receptors 4.1 Definition and General Knowledge4.2 Input Neurons of MB; 4.3 Intrinsic Neurons of MB (Kenyon Cells); 4.4 Output Neurons of MB; 5 Remarks and Conclusions; References;
Chapter 3: Recognition of Plant Odor Information in Moths; 1 Introduction; 2 How to Identify the Biologically Relevant Plant Odorants Recognized by Moths; 3 Plant Odor OSNs in Moths Categorized by Their Molecular Range; 3.1 Virtually, No Overlap in Molecular Receptive Ranges Is Seen Among OSN-Types in Heliothine Moths or in the Cabbage Moth M. brassicae