Odorant receptor structures predict the major female sex pheromone component in a moth
Arthur Comte, Zhiqiang Wei, Hui Li, Wen-Zhe Xing, Riccardo Moracci, Jin Zhang, Sébastien Fiorucci, Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly · 2026
Read Odorant receptor structures predict the major female sex pheromone component in a moth by Arthur Comte, Zhiqiang Wei, Hui Li, Wen-Zhe Xing, Riccardo Moracci, Jin Zhang, Sébastien Fiorucci, Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13591803.txt.
Description
Arthur Comte and seven colleagues use smell receptor science to name the main sex scent of the lily moth, a species never charted before. Female moths release scent blends that draw males of their own kind, and pinning down the blend normally needs live insects at the right hour. The team instead read the moth's genome for kin of known pheromone receptors, modeled their shapes, and predicted which scent molecule would fit.
Computer docking pointed to one compound, and lab tests on the receptors agreed. Chemical analysis of female scent glands then found that compound as the main component. Antenna tests and field behavior showed it alone can draw males. Comte and the team offer receptor guided hunting as a shortcut for other unstudied insects.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Arthur Comte, Zhiqiang Wei, Hui Li, Wen-Zhe Xing, Riccardo Moracci, Jin Zhang, Sébastien Fiorucci, Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 47 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |