Locust plagues threaten agricultural and environmental safety throughout the world 1 , 2 . Aggregation pheromones have a crucial role in the transition of locusts from a solitary form to the devastating gregarious form and the formation of large-scale swarms 3 , 4 . However, none of the candidate compounds reported 5 – 7 meet all the criteria for a locust aggregation pheromone. Here, using behavioural assays, electrophysiological recording, olfactory receptor characterization and field experiments, we demonstrate that 4-vinylanisole (4VA) (also known as 4-methoxystyrene) is an aggregation pheromone of the migratory locust ( Locusta migratoria ). Both gregarious and solitary locusts are strongly attracted to 4VA, regardless of age and sex. Although it is emitted specifically by gregarious locusts, 4VA production can be triggered by aggregation of four to five solitary locusts. It elicits responses specifically from basiconic sensilla on locust antennae. We also identified OR35 as a specific olfactory receptor of 4VA. Knockout of OR35 using CRISPR–Cas9 markedly reduced the electrophysiological responses of the antennae and impaired 4VA behavioural attractiveness. Finally, field trapping experiments verified the attractiveness of 4VA to experimental and wild populations. These findings identify a locust aggregation pheromone and provide insights for the development of novel control strategies for locusts. 4-Vinylanisole, which is emitted by gregarious locusts or as a result of aggregation of solitary locusts, is identified as an aggregation pheromone that strongly attracts both solitary and gregarious locusts, acting via the olfactory receptor OR35.

中文翻译：

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4-Vinylanisole 是蝗虫的聚集信息素

蝗灾威胁着全世界的农业和环境安全 1, 2。聚集信息素在蝗虫从独居形式转变为毁灭性的群居形式以及大规模群体 3 、 4 的形成过程中起着至关重要的作用。然而，据报道，5-7 个候选化合物均不符合蝗虫聚集信息素的所有标准。在这里，我们使用行为测定、电生理记录、嗅觉受体表征和现场实验，证明 4-乙烯基苯甲醚 (4VA)（也称为 4-甲氧基苯乙烯）是飞蝗（Locusta migratoria）的聚集信息素。不论年龄和性别，群居蝗虫和独居蝗虫都被 4VA 强烈吸引。虽然它是由群居的蝗虫专门排放的，4 到 5 只孤立蝗虫的聚集可以触发 4VA 生产。它特别引起蝗虫触角上的基本感受器的反应。我们还将 OR35 鉴定为 4VA 的特异性嗅觉受体。使用 CRISPR-Cas9 敲除 OR35 显着降低了触角的电生理反应并削弱了 4VA 的行为吸引力。最后，现场诱捕实验验证了 4VA 对实验和野生种群的吸引力。这些发现确定了一种蝗虫聚集信息素，并为开发新型蝗虫控制策略提供了见解。4-Vinylanisole 由群居蝗虫释放或作为独居蝗虫聚集的结果，被确定为强烈吸引独居和群居蝗虫的聚集信息素，