Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42227671›Full record

ArticlePest management science2026

A predator-derived odor specifically triggers avoidance in gregarious mated female Locusta migratoria.

Kaiyan Liu, Guirong Wang, Hetan Chang, Bill S Hansson, Shanchun Yan, Xiaoqing Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pest management science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Kaiyan LiuSchool of Forestry/Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
Guirong WangShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3156-1241
Hetan ChangShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Bill S HanssonShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Shanchun YanSchool of Forestry/Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management of Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
Xiaoqing ZhangShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3409-9084

Funding

China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2024M753585Max Planck SocietyNational Natural Science Foundation of China 32130089National Natural Science Foundation of China 32572803National Natural Science Foundation of China W2541009Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences CAAS-CSCB-202302
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInsects possess a highly specialized olfactory system. The migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), a major agricultural pest, is thought to emit odors that serve as aposematic signals to protect gregarious individuals from predation. However, whether locusts can detect the odors of their natural enemies to preemptively avoid predation remains unclear.

resultsHere, we show that gregarious mated female locusts exhibit strong avoidance behavior toward the odors of two avian predators, Numida meleagris and Anas platyrhynchos. Through volatile compound profiling, we identified 1-octen-3-ol, a key predator-released odor, which elicited significant aversive responses specifically in gregarious mated females; notably, virgin females showed no behavioral response to this odor. Through screening 82 olfactory receptors in L. migratoria, we identified two receptors, LmOR1 and LmOR17, that detect 1-octen-3-ol. A temporal expression study of LmOR1 and LmOR17 across different developmental stages of two locust phases using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that both genes are significantly more highly expressed in the gregarious mated females. Genome editing of these receptors revealed that knockout of LmOR1 significantly reduced both the electrophysiological response and the behavioral avoidance of 1-octen-3-ol, whereas knockout of LmOR17 had no effect. In our results we thus uncover a striking mating-state dependence of an innate avoidance behavior to a predator-derived odor, and further we identify LmOR1 as the major receptor mediating this olfactory-driven defense.

conclusionOur findings provide crucial insights into the behavioral and olfactory mechanisms underlying insect-predator interactions, as well as the role of mating status in modulating defensive responses, offering potential olfactory targets for locust management. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Indexed as

Avoidance LearningLocusta migratoriaOctanolsOdorantsReceptors, OdorantAnimalsFemaleHeteropteraInsect ProteinsPredatory Behavior1-octen-3-olInsect ProteinsOctanolsReceptors, Odorant1‐octen‐3‐olaversive behaviorlocust predatorslocustsodorant receptor

Identifiers

PMID42227671
PMCPMC13569219

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.