Structural basis of odor sensing by insect heteromeric odorant receptors

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Zhao, Jiawei; Chen, Andy Q.; Ryu, Jaewook; del Marmol, Josefina
• 署名单位: Harvard University; Harvard Medical School; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10584
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adn6384
• 发表日期: 2024-06-28
• 页码: 1460-1467
• 关键词: mosquito preference; social-behavior; molecular-basis; EVOLUTION; CONSERVATION; modulation; expression; proteins; humans; FAMILY

摘要

Most insects, including human-targeting mosquitoes, detect odors through odorant-activated ion channel complexes consisting of a divergent odorant-binding subunit (OR) and a conserved co-receptor subunit (Orco). As a basis for understanding how odorants activate these heteromeric receptors, we report here cryo-electron microscopy structures of two different heteromeric odorant receptor complexes containing ORs from disease-vector mosquitos Aedes aegypti or Anopheles gambiae. These structures reveal an unexpected stoichiometry of one OR to three Orco subunits. Comparison of structures in odorant-bound and unbound states indicates that odorant binding to the sole OR subunit is sufficient to open the channel pore, suggesting a mechanism of OR activation and a conceptual framework for understanding evolution of insect odorant receptor sensitivity.