Function and evolution of a gene family encoding odorant binding-like proteins in a social insect, the honey bee (Apis mellifera).

ABSTRACT: The remarkable olfactory power of insect species is thought to be generated by a combinatorial action of two large protein families, G protein-coupled olfactory receptors (ORs) and odorant binding proteins (OBPs). In olfactory sensilla, OBPs deliver hydrophobic airborne molecules to ORs, but their expression in nonolfactory tissues suggests that they also may function as general carriers in other developmental and physiological processes. Here we used bioinformatic and experimental approaches to characterize the OBP-like gene family in a highly social insect, the Western honey bee. Comparison with other insects shows that the honey bee has the smallest set of these genes, consisting of only 21 OBPs. This number stands in stark contrast to the more than 70 OBPs in Anopheles gambiae and 51 i

SUBMITTER: Foret S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1626642 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature