Insect pests consume tastants as their necessary energy and nutrient sources. Gustatory receptors play important roles in insect life and can form within an extremely complicated regulatory network. However, there are still many gustatory genes that have a significant impact on insect physiology, but their functional mechanism is still unknown. Here, we purified and characterized a gustatory receptor (protein) coding gene, NlGr7, from the brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens, which is an important insect pest of rice. Our results revealed that NlGr7 has an active association with various ligands, such as lectins, lipids (phospho- and sphingolipid) and copper. The mass-spectrometry result showed that NlGr7 is a sugar receptor, and NlGr7 is validated by different types of insoluble polysaccharides and a varied range of tastants. Further, we observed that NlGr7-bound ATP hydrolysed on the ATPase activity assay, which indicated that NlGr7 may be associated with important biological functions in the BPH. Furthermore, an injection of NlGr7 (protein), into newly emerged female adults of BPH, showed the reduced vitellogenin in ovary. The important NlGr7 for chemoreception has now been characterized in the BPH. We showed that NlGr7 in the BPH is required for various protein-ligands, as well as protein-sugars interactions, and for regulation of fecundity marker to play crucial roles in this pest. This study will provide valuable information for further functional studies of chemoreception mechanisms in this important agricultural pest.

害虫消耗促味剂作为其必需的能量和营养来源。味觉受体在昆虫生命中起着重要作用，可以在极其复杂的调节网络中形成。然而，仍有许多味觉基因对昆虫生理有显着影响，但其功能机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们从褐飞虱 (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens 中纯化并表征了味觉受体（蛋白质）编码基因NlGr7，这是一种重要的水稻害虫。我们的结果表明，Nl Gr7 与各种配体（如凝集素、脂质（磷酸和鞘脂）和铜）具有积极的联系。质谱结果表明NlGr7 是一种糖受体，N1 Gr7 被不同类型的不溶性多糖和各种促味剂验证。此外，我们观察到Nl Gr7 结合的 ATP 在 ATPase 活性测定中水解，这表明Nl Gr7 可能与 BPH 中的重要生物学功能有关。此外，将Nl Gr7（蛋白质）注射到新出现的 BPH 雌性成虫中，显示卵巢中的卵黄蛋白原减少。用于化学感受的重要Nl Gr7 现在已在 BPH 中表征。我们证明了NlBPH 中的 Gr7 是各种蛋白质-配体、蛋白质-糖相互作用以及调节繁殖力标记以在该害虫中发挥关键作用的必需条件。本研究将为这一重要农业害虫化学感受机制的进一步功能研究提供有价值的信息。