Hao Guo1,2, Kishor Kunwar2, Dean Smith2. 1. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China. 2. Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) is the prophylactic insect repellent used most widely to inhibit insect bites. Despite its use since 1944, the mechanism of DEET repellency remains controversial. Here, we revisited the role of smell and taste in DEET repellence using Drosophila as a model. RESULTS: Analysis of the responses of individual olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) classes to DEET reveals that 11 ORNs are activated and two are inhibited by this compound. Blocking individual ORN classes in the antenna does not block DEET repellence. This argues against the existence of a single ORN mediating DEET repellence in Drosophila. Activation of all ORCO-expressing neurons using channelrhodopsin favors attraction, not repellence, in behavioral valence. We also demonstrate that gustatory neurons are highly sensitive to DEET. We used RNA interference to screen candidate receptors encoded by gene families involved in the detection of bitter compounds, including 34 gustatory receptors (Grs), 14 ionotropic receptors (Irs), five pick-pocket subunits (PPKs), three transient receptor potential ion channels (TrpA, TrpL, Painless) and one metabotropic glutamate receptors gene (DmXR). We saw striking defects in DEET-mediated oviposition behavior when expression of either Gr32a or Gr33a was inhibited. CONCLUSION: Our findings support a multimodal mechanism for DEET detection in fruit flies and indicate a prominent role for taste detection mediating DEET repellence.
BACKGROUND:N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) is the prophylactic insect repellent used most widely to inhibit insect bites. Despite its use since 1944, the mechanism of DEET repellency remains controversial. Here, we revisited the role of smell and taste in DEET repellence using Drosophila as a model. RESULTS: Analysis of the responses of individual olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) classes to DEET reveals that 11 ORNs are activated and two are inhibited by this compound. Blocking individual ORN classes in the antenna does not block DEET repellence. This argues against the existence of a single ORN mediating DEET repellence in Drosophila. Activation of all ORCO-expressing neurons using channelrhodopsin favors attraction, not repellence, in behavioral valence. We also demonstrate that gustatory neurons are highly sensitive to DEET. We used RNA interference to screen candidate receptors encoded by gene families involved in the detection of bitter compounds, including 34 gustatory receptors (Grs), 14 ionotropic receptors (Irs), five pick-pocket subunits (PPKs), three transient receptor potential ion channels (TrpA, TrpL, Painless) and one metabotropic glutamate receptors gene (DmXR). We saw striking defects in DEET-mediated oviposition behavior when expression of either Gr32a or Gr33a was inhibited. CONCLUSION: Our findings support a multimodal mechanism for DEET detection in fruit flies and indicate a prominent role for taste detection mediating DEET repellence.
Authors: Christopher J L Murray; Lisa C Rosenfeld; Stephen S Lim; Kathryn G Andrews; Kyle J Foreman; Diana Haring; Nancy Fullman; Mohsen Naghavi; Rafael Lozano; Alan D Lopez Journal: Lancet Date: 2012-02-04 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Han-Jung Chae; Hyung-Ryong Kim; Chunyan Xu; Beatrice Bailly-Maitre; Maryla Krajewska; Stan Krajewski; Steven Banares; Janice Cui; Murat Digicaylioglu; Ning Ke; Shinichi Kitada; Edward Monosov; Michael Thomas; Christina L Kress; Jeremy R Babendure; Roger Y Tsien; Stuart A Lipton; John C Reed Journal: Mol Cell Date: 2004-08-13 Impact factor: 17.970
Authors: Zainulabeuddin Syed; Julien Pelletier; Eric Flounders; Rodrigo F Chitolina; Walter S Leal Journal: PLoS One Date: 2011-03-16 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Matthew DeGennaro; Carolyn S McBride; Laura Seeholzer; Takao Nakagawa; Emily J Dennis; Chloe Goldman; Nijole Jasinskiene; Anthony A James; Leslie B Vosshall Journal: Nature Date: 2013-05-29 Impact factor: 49.962
Authors: Zuhair M Haleem; Sandhya Yadav; Minor L Cushion; Rebecca J Tanner; Peter J Carek; Arch G Mainous Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2020-05-21 Impact factor: 2.345