Scientists see how fruit fly noses detect mating signals
Wang J, Yang C, Chang S, Jiao D, Lin J
Plant Signaling
The fruit flies buzzing around your compost bin or overripe tomatoes use this exact molecular switch to find mates, and understanding it could eventually help researchers design smarter, more targeted insect repellents for the garden.
Fruit flies find each other using scent signals called pheromones, and researchers just figured out the precise shape of the protein that catches one of these signals and turns it into a nerve impulse. They found the receptor works as a team of four proteins that twist open like a gate when the pheromone molecule locks into a pocket shaped just for it.
Key Findings
OR67d and Orco proteins assemble into a hetero-tetrameric channel with 1:3 stoichiometry
The pheromone cVA binds a deep, bent hydrophobic pocket in OR67d, triggering asymmetrical opening of the channel gate
A synthetic agonist (VUAA1) activates the same channel by binding Orco instead of OR67d, producing a similar gate-opening effect
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists mapped the 3D structure of a fruit fly's pheromone-detecting protein, showing exactly how it senses a mating signal and opens a channel in the nerve cell to trigger a response.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Cryo-EM structures of Drosophila OR67d-Orco complexes reveal insect pheromone sensing mechanism.
Pheromones mediate intraspecific communication to regulate the physiology and behavior of animals, particularly insects. The detection of pheromones is initiated by the binding of pheromone molecul...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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