Insect Molecular Biology Group

Understanding how insects find their plant/animal hosts is key to interfering with this behaviour and developing environmentally-friendly pest control strategies.

Shao-Hua Gu, Shu-Ping Wang, Xue-Ying Zhang, Kong-Ming Wu, Yu-Yuan Guo, Yong-Jun Zhang*, Jing-Jiang Zhou* (2011). Identification and tissue distribution of odorant binding protein genes in the lucerne plant bug Adelphocoris lineolatus (Goeze). Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 41:254-263.  Jing-Jiang Zhou. (2010). Odorant-binding proteins in insects. Vitam Horm. 83:241-72. Review. Jing-Jiang Zhou*, Filipe G. Vieira, Xiao-Li He, Carole Smadja, Renhu Liu, Julio Rozas and Linda M. Field. (2010). Genome annotation and comparative analyses of the odorant-binding proteins and chemosensory proteins in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Insect Mol Biol Suppl 2:113-22. Renhu Liu, Stella Lehane, Xiaoli He, Mike Lehane, Christiane Hertz-Fowler, Matthew Berriman, John A. Pickett, Linda M. Fieldand Jing-Jiang Zhou*. (2010). Characterisations of odorant-binding proteins in the tsetse fly Glossina morsitans morsitans. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 67(6):919-929. Jing-Jiang Zhou*, Linda M. Field and Xiao Li He. (2010). Insect odorant-binding proteins: do they offer an alternative pest control strategy? Outlooks on Pest Management. 21(1):31-34. He, X., Tzotzos, G., Woodcock, C., Pickett, J.A., Hooper, T., Field, L.M., Zhou, J-J*.  (2010). Binding of the General Odorant Binding Protein of Bombyx mori BmorGOBP2 to the Moth Sex Pheromone Components. J Chem Ecol. 36(12):1293-305. The International Aphid Genomics Consortium. (2010). Genome Sequence of the Pea Aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum.  PLoS Biology. 8(2):e1000313. Hooper, A.M., Dufour, S., Zhou, J-J., He, X., Muck, A., Field, L.M.,Svatos, A. and Pickett, J.A.(2009). High-throughput ESI-MS analysis of binding between the pheromone-binding protein BmorPBP1 of Bombyx mori, its pheromone components and some analogues. Chem Commun (Camb).  14,5725-7. Qiao, H., Tuccori, E., He, X., Gazzano, A., Field, L., Zhou, J-J and Pelosi, P. (2009). Discrimination of alarm pheromone (E)-β-farnesene by aphid odorant-binding proteins. Ins. Bioc. Mol. Biol. 39, 414-419. Zhou, J-J, Robertson, G., He X., Dufour, S., Hooper, A., Pickett, J.A., Keep, N.H. and Field, L.M.(2009). Identification and characterisation of Bombyx mori odorant-binding proteins reveals that a ‘general odorant-binding protein’ can discriminate between sex pheromone components. J. Mol. Biol. 389, 529-545. Pickett, J.A.. Birkett, M.A Woodcock C.M. and Zhou, J-J. (2009). Insect pheromones: scents and sex.  The Biochemical Society 31:2 28-32. Zhou, J-J., He, X.L., Pickett, J.A. and Field, L.M. (2008). Identification of odorant binding proteins of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti: Genome annotation and comparative analyses. Ins. Mol. Biol. 17, 147-163. Yao, L.G., Liu, Z.C., Zhang, X.M., Kan, Y.C. and Zhou, J.J. (2007). A highly efficient method for the generation of a recombinant Bombyx mori nuclear-polyhedrosis-virus Bacmid and large-scale expression of foreign proteins in silkworm (B. mori) larvae. Biotechnol. Appl. Biochem. 48, 45-53. Pelosi P, Zhou J.J, Ban LP, Calvello M (2006).  Soluble proteins in insect chemical communication. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 63, 1658-76. Zhou, J-J, Kan, Y., Antoniw, J., Pickett, J.A. and Field, L.M. (2006). Genome and EST analyses and expression of a gene family with putative functions in insect chemoreception. Chemical Senses 31, 453-465. Li, Z-X., Pickett, J.A., Field, L.M. and Zhou, J-J. (2005). Identification and expression of odorant-binding proteins of the malaria-carrying mosquitoes Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles arabiensis. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 58, 175-189 Jacobs, S.P., Liggins, A.P., Zhou, J-J, Pickett, J.A., Pelosi, P. and Field, L.M. (2005). OS-D-like genes and their expression in aphids (Hemiptera:Aphididae). Ins. Mol. Biol. 14, 423-432 Zhou, J.-J., Huang, W., Zhang, G.-A., Pickett, J.A. and Field, L.M. (2004). “Plus-C” odorant-binding protein genes in two Drosophila species and the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.  Gene 327, 117-129. Zhou, J.-J., Zhang, G.-A., Huang, W., Birkett, M.A., Field, L.M., Pickett, J.A. and Pelosi, P. (2004). Revisiting odorant-binding protein lush of Drosophila melanogaster: Evidence for odour recognition and discrimination. FEBS Letters 558, 23-26.