Chemosensory genes in the antennal transcriptome of Nilaparvata lugens

Insects employ semiochemicals to guide diverse behaviors, and several semiochemicals are now used as control agents in integrated pest management (IPM) strategies to protect agricultural crops. Excitingly, advances in insect olfaction research have significantly expanded the boundaries of our understanding, making it possible to screen for potential pheromones using olfactory proteins as targets. This work focused on a highly invasive major rice pest, the brown planthopper (BPH), (Nilaparvata lugens), whose annual loss and control costs represent 1.5-2.3 billion USD. This insect is one of the most difficult pests to control and is the focus of intense research. In this study, we report the first functional characterization of conventional odorant receptor in BPH.