Cellular and Molecular Targets of Waterbuck Repellent Blend Odors in Antennae of Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newstead, 1910

Insects that transmit many of the world’s deadliest animal diseases, for instance trypanosomosis, find their suitable hosts and avoid non-preferred hosts mostly through olfactory cues. The waterbuck repellent blend (WRB) comprising geranylacetone, guaiacol, pentanoic acid, and δ-octalactone derived from waterbuck skin odor is a repellent to some savannah-adapted tsetse flies and reduces trap catches of riverine species. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with detection and coding of the repellent odors remain to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrated that WRB inhibited blood feeding in both Glossina pallidipes Austen, 1903 and Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newstead, 1910. Using the DREAM (Deorphanization of Receptors based on Expression Alterations in odorant receptor mRNA levels) technique, combined with ortholog comparison and molecular docking, we predicted the putative odorant receptors (ORs) for the WRB in G. f. fuscipes, a non-model insect. We show that exposure of G. f. fuscipes in vivo to WRB odorant resulted in up- and downregulation of mRNA transcript of several ORs. The WRB component with strong feeding inhibition altered mRNA transcript differently as compared to an attractant odor, showing these two odors of opposing valence already segregate at the cellular and molecular levels. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that the predicted ligand–OR binding pockets consisted mostly of hydrophobic residues with a few hydrogen bonds but a stable interaction. Finally, our electrophysiological response showed the olfactory sensory neurons of G. f. fuscipes tuned to the tsetse repellent components in different sensitivity and selectivity.