Neofunctionalization of "Juvenile Hormone Esterase Duplication" in Drosophila as an odorant-degrading enzyme towards food odorants.

ABSTRACT: Odorant degrading enzymes (ODEs) are thought to be responsible, at least in part, for olfactory signal termination in the chemosensory system by rapid degradation of odorants in the vicinity of the receptors. A carboxylesterase, specifically expressed in Drosophila antennae, called "juvenile hormone esterase duplication (JHEdup)" has been previously reported to hydrolyse different fruit esters in vitro. Here we functionally characterize JHEdup in vivo. We show that the jhedup gene is highly expressed in large basiconic sensilla that have been reported to detect several food esters. An electrophysiological analysis demonstrates that ab1A olfactory neurons of jhedup mutant flies exhibit an increased response to certain food acetates. Furthermore, mutant flies show a higher sensitivity toward

SUBMITTER: Steiner C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5626784 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature