Abstract
The oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is a notorious pest of fruit crops. Gravid females locate suitable oviposition sites by detecting host plant volatiles. Here, we demonstrate that 1-octen-3-ol, a volatile from mango, guides the oviposition behavior of female flies. Two odorant receptors (BdorOR7a-6 and BdorOR13a) are identified as key receptors for 1-octen-3-ol perception by qPCR analysis, heterologous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes and HEK 293 cells followed by in vitro binding assays, as well as CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in B. dorsalis. Molecular docking and site-directed mutagenesis are used to determine major binding sites for 1-octen-3-ol. Our results demonstrate the potential of 1-octen-3-ol to attract gravid females and molecular mechanism of its perception in B. dorsalis. BdorOR7a-6 and BdorOR13a can therefore be used as molecular targets for the development of female attractants. Furthermore, our site-directed mutagenesis data will facilitate the chemical engineering of 1-octen-3-ol to generate more efficient attractants.