ArticleBMC biology2026
Odorant receptor structures predict the major female sex pheromone component in a moth.
Article in BMC biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSpecies isolation in insects can be ensured by prezygotic barriers, such as species-specific sex pheromone blends that mediate sexual attraction and mate recognition. Yet, sex pheromone compositions of many species remain poorly characterized outside important agricultural pests, because of the necessity to access live insects for pheromone extraction, the difficulties in identifying the production period, and the precise identification of behaviorally relevant compounds in extracts.
resultsHere, we use an odorant receptor (OR)-guided approach to identify the major female sex pheromone component of the previously unexplored lily moth, Spodoptera picta. Genome analysis identified S. picta orthologs of the pheromone receptors OR5 and OR75, previously characterized in S. litura and S. littoralis. Structural modeling of OR5 and OR75 combined with molecular docking predicted conserved ligand binding to (Z,E)-9,11-14:OAc, which was confirmed by functional assays on the ORs. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of female pheromone gland extracts identified this compound as the major pheromone component, and electrophysiological and behavioral assays further demonstrated that it elicits antennal responses and is sufficient to attract males.
conclusionsTogether, these results establish an innovative receptor structure-based strategy for pheromone identification in non-model species, provide insights into the sexual chemical ecology of S. picta, and clarify the evolutionary pathway by which a unique class of pheromone receptors emerged by gene duplication and gained specificity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.