a carboxylesterase, esterase-6, modulates sensory physiological and behavioral response dynamics to pheromone in drosophila羧酸酯酶、esterase-6调节感官生理和行为反应动力学信息素在果蝇.pdfVIP

Chertemps et al. BMC Biology 2012, 10:56 /1741-7007/10/56 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access A carboxylesterase, Esterase-6, modulates sensory physiological and behavioral response dynamics to pheromone in Drosophila 1 1,2 1 3 4 2 Thomas Chertemps , Adrien François , Nicolas Durand , Gloria Rosell , Teun Dekker , Philippe Lucas and Martine Maïbèche-Coisne1* Abstract Background: Insects respond to the spatial and temporal dynamics of a pheromone plume, which implies not only a strong response to ‘odor on’, but also to ‘odor off’. This requires mechanisms geared toward a fast signal termination. Several mechanisms may contribute to signal termination, among which odorant-degrading enzymes. These enzymes putatively play a role in signal dynamics by a rapid inactivation of odorants in the vicinity of the sensory receptors, although direct in vivo experimental evidences are lacking. Here we verified the role of an extracellular carboxylesterase, esterase-6 (Est-6), in the sensory physiological and behavioral dynamics of Drosophila melanogaster response to its pheromone, cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA). Est-6 was previously linked to post-mating effects in the reproductive system of females. As Est-6 is also known to hydrolyze cVA in vitro and is expressed in the main olfactory organ, the antenna, we tested here its role in olfaction as a putative odorant-degrading enzyme. Results: We first confirm that Est-6 is highly expressed in olfactory sensilla, including cVA-sensitive sensilla, and we show that expression is likely associated with non-neuronal cells. Our electrophysiological approaches show that the dynamics of olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) responses is strongly influenced by Est-6, as in