期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2007
卷号：104
期号：9
页码：3574-3578
DOI：10.1073/pnas.0700079104
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：CO2 elicits a response from many insects, including mosquito vectors of diseases such as malaria and yellow fever, but the molecular basis of CO2 detection is unknown in insects or other higher eukaryotes. Here we show that Gr21a and Gr63a, members of a large family of Drosophila seven-transmembrane-domain chemoreceptor genes, are coexpressed in chemosensory neurons of both the larva and the adult. The two genes confer CO2 response when coexpressed in an in vivo expression system, the "empty neuron system." The response is highly specific for CO2 and dependent on CO2 concentration. The response shows an equivalent dependence on the dose of Gr21a and Gr63a. None of 39 other chemosensory receptors confers a comparable response to CO2. The identification of these receptors may now allow the identification of agents that block or activate them. Such agents could affect the responses of insect pests to the humans they seek.
