Open AccessA novel terpene synthase controls differences in anti-aphrodisiac pheromone production between closely related Heliconius butterflies
Author(s) -
Kathy Darragh,
Anna Orteu,
Daniella Black,
Kelsey J.R.P. Byers,
Daiane Szczerbowski,
Ian A. Warren,
Pasi Rastas,
Ana Pinharanda,
John W. Davey,
Sylvia Fernanda Garza,
Diana Abondano Almeida,
Richard M. Merrill,
W. Owen McMillan,
Stefan Schulz,
Chris D. Jiggins
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.127
H-Index - 271
eISSN - 1545-7885
pISSN - 1544-9173
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001022
Subject(s) - biology , heliconius , sex pheromone , pheromone , terpene , chemical ecology , insect , evolutionary biology , convergent evolution , gene , botany , genetics , phylogenetics , biochemistry
Plants and insects often use the same compounds for chemical communication, but not much is known about the genetics of convergent evolution of chemical signals. The terpene ( E )-β-ocimene is a common component of floral scent and is also used by the butterfly Heliconius melpomene as an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone. While the biosynthesis of terpenes has been described in plants and microorganisms, few terpene synthases (TPSs) have been identified in insects. Here, we study the recent divergence of 2 species, H . melpomene and Heliconius cydno , which differ in the presence of ( E )-β-ocimene; combining linkage mapping, gene expression, and functional analyses, we identify 2 novel TPSs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that one, HmelOS, is able to synthesise ( E )-β-ocimene in vitro. We find no evidence for TPS activity in HcydOS (HmelOS ortholog of H . cydno ), suggesting that the loss of ( E )-β-ocimene in this species is the result of coding, not regulatory, differences. The TPS enzymes we discovered are unrelated to previously described plant and insect TPSs, demonstrating that chemical convergence has independent evolutionary origins.