Sophisticated social behaviors in termite colonies are mainly regulated via chemical communication of a wide range of pheromones. Trail pheromones play important roles in foraging behavior and building tunnels and nests in termites. However, it is almost unclear how termites perceive trail pheromones. Here, we cloned and sequenced of olfactory co-receptor (Orco) genes from the two termites Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) and Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki) (Isoptera: Termitidae), and then examined their responses to trail pheromones after silencing Orco through RNA interference (RNAi). We found that Orco knockdown impaired their ability to perceive trail pheromones and resulted in the disability of following pheromone trails in the two termite species. Our locomotion behavior assays further showed that Orco knockdown significantly decreased the distance and velocity in the two termite species, but significantly increased the angular velocity and turn angle in the termite R. chinensis. These findings strongly demonstrated that Orco is essential for termites to perceive their trail pheromones, which provides a potential way to control termite pests by damaging olfactory system.

中文翻译：

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沉默 Orco 削弱了感知尾迹信息素的能力并影响了两种白蚁物种的运动行为

白蚁群落中复杂的社会行为主要通过各种信息素的化学通讯进行调节。足迹信息素在白蚁的觅食行为和建造隧道和巢穴中起着重要作用。然而，目前还不清楚白蚁如何感知尾迹信息素。在这里，我们克隆并测序了来自两种白蚁 Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder（等翅目：Rhinotermitidae）和 Odontotermes formosanus（Shiraki）（等翅目： Termitidae）的嗅觉共受体 (Orco) 基因，然后检查它们在沉默 Orco 后对尾迹信息素的反应通过 RNA 干扰 (RNAi)。我们发现 Orco 击倒削弱了它们感知踪迹信息素的能力，并导致两种白蚁物种无法跟踪信息素踪迹。我们的运动行为分析进一步表明，Orco 击倒显着降低了两种白蚁物种的距离和速度，但显着增加了白蚁 R. chinensis 的角速度和转向角。这些发现有力地表明，Orco 对白蚁感知其尾迹信息素至关重要，这提供了一种通过破坏嗅觉系统来控制白蚁害虫的潜在方法。