Yongbo Wang

Insect odorant receptors (ORs) are pivotal molecular interfaces that translate environmental chemical cues into neuronal electrical impulses, thereby governing essential behaviors such as foraging, mating, oviposition, and predator avoidance. The past three years have witnessed a paradigm shift driven by high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo–EM) structures of OR-odorant receptor co-receptor (Orco) heterocomplexes, which definitively established the 1:3 stoichiometry (one odorant-specific OR subunit and three Orco subunits) of the functional ion channel. These structures have revealed the architecture of the ligand-binding pocket and the conformational dynamics underlying channel gating. This structural framework has illuminated long-standing questions regarding the evolution of ORs from ancestral gustatory receptors and their lineage-specific expansion via a “birth-and-death” model, enabling adaptation to diverse ecological niches. Concurrently, the long-debated signal transduction mechanism has been reconciled by evidence of a unified bimodal system, where OR–Orco complexes function as both direct ligand-gated ion channels and activators of an IP3-dependent metabotropic cascade. Here, we integrate these recent breakthroughs—from atomic-level structures and evolutionary genomics to in vivo functional validation—with classical knowledge of OR expression, localization, and diversity. We further synthesize the emerging field of structure-guided applications, including virtual screening for novel semiochemicals and the development of RNAi- and CRISPR-based strategies for pest management. This comprehensive review provides a framework for understanding the molecular logic of insect olfaction and its exploitation for biotechnological innovation.

Leaf abscission is a cell separation process that occurs throughout the entire plant life cycle, leading to the detachment of tissues or organs. The application of chemical defoliants to induce cotton leaf abscission not only saves the energy required for maintaining life processes but also facilitates mechanical harvesting. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying cotton leaf abscission remain poorly understood. In this study, multiple comparative analyses of gene expression differences were conducted between two cotton cultivars with different sensitivities to chemical defoliant Thidiazuron (TDZ) after TDZ application, resulting in 1,505,720,260 clean reads together with the average 92.77% of Q30 base percentage and 43.13% of GC content. A total of 35,739 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and these DEGs were mainly enriched in pathways of zeatin biosynthesis, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and hormone metabolic processes. Integration of temporal expression pattern analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed that plant hormone signal transduction and MAPK signaling pathways might play important roles in TDZ-induced leaf abscission. Among them, a sucrose non-fermenting 1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase 2 gene (SnRK2, GH_A11G1981 and GH_D11G2017) in the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway might be a potential key regulatory factor in defoliant induced leaf abscission. These findings provide novel insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms of chemical defoliant-induced leaf abscission in cotton and lay a foundation for future breeding programs and practical applications in cotton production.

Oxidative Stress 3 (OXS3) encodes a plant-specific protein that makes great contributions to a plant’s stress tolerance. However, reports on genome-wide identification and expression pattern analyses of OXS3 were only found for Arabidopsis, wheat, and rice. The genus Gossypium (cotton) serves as an ideal model for studying allopolyploidy. Therefore, two diploid species (G. raimondii and G. arboreum) and two tetraploid species (G. hirsutum and G. barbadense) were chosen in this study for a bioinformatics analysis, resulting in 12, 12, 22, and 23 OXS3 members, respectively. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using 69 cotton OXS3 genes alongside 8 Arabidopsis, 10 rice, and 9 wheat genes, which were classified into three groups (Group 1–3). A consistent evolutionary relationship with the phylogenetic tree was observed in our structural analysis of the cotton OXS3 genes and the clustering of six conserved motifs. Gene duplication analysis across the four representative Gossypium species suggested that whole-genome duplication, segmental duplication, and tandem duplication might play significant roles in the expansion of the OXS3 gene family. Some existing elements responsive to salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and abscisic acid (ABA) were identified by cis-regulatory element analysis in the promoter regions, which could influence the expression levels of cotton OXS3 genes. Furthermore, the expression patterns of the GhOXS3 gene were examined in different tissues or organs, as well as in developing ovules and fibers, with the highest expression observed in ovules. GhOXS3 genes exhibited a more pronounced regulatory response to abiotic stresses, of which ten GhOXS3 genes showed similar expression patterns under cold, heat, salt, and drought treatments. These observations were verified by quantitative real-time PCR experiments. These findings enhance our understanding of the evolutionary relationships and expression patterns of the OXS3 gene family and provide valuable insights for the identification of vital candidate genes for trait improvement in cotton breeding.

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the fifth largest oil crop in the world, and cottonseed provides abundant vegetable oil resources and industrial bioenergy fuels for people; therefore, it is of practical significance to increase the oil content of cotton seeds for improving the oil yield and economic benefits of planting cotton. Long-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase (LACS) capable of catalyzing the formation of acyl-CoAs from free fatty acids has been proven to significantly participate in lipid metabolism, of which whole-genome identification and functional characterization of the gene family have not yet been comprehensively analyzed in cotton. In this study, a total of sixty-five LACS genes were confirmed in two diploid and two tetraploid Gossypium species, which were divided into six subgroups based on phylogenetic relationships with twenty-one other plants. An analysis of protein motif and genomic organizations displayed structural and functional conservation within the same group but diverged among the different group. Gene duplication relationship analysis illustrates the LACS gene family in large scale expansion through WGDs/segmental duplications. The overall Ka/Ks ratio indicated the intense purifying selection of LACS genes in four cotton species during evolution. The LACS genes promoter elements contain numerous light response cis-elements associated with fatty acids synthesis and catabolism. In addition, the expression of almost all GhLACS genes in high seed oil were higher compared to those in low seed oil. We proposed LACS gene models and shed light on their functional roles in lipid metabolism, demonstrating their engineering potential for modulating TAG synthesis in cotton, and the genetic engineering of cottonseed oil provides a theoretical basis.