03018nas a2200481   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653001200043653000900055653001500064653001500079653001400094653001400108653003000122653001000152653001200162653002600174653001100200653002000211653001300231653000900244653001400253653002300267653001500290653002000305653000900325653001100334100001600345700001600361700002100377700002800398700001800426700001600444700002000460700002200480700001500502245013000517856014200647300001400789490000700803520170600810022002002516                                       d10aAnimals10amale10aPheromones10aQuarantine10aReceptors10aPheromone10aRhynchophorus ferrugineus10aTrees10aWeevils10aaggregation pheromone10aanimal10adeorphanization10agenetics10amale10apheromone10apheromone receptor10aquarantine10ared palm weevil10atree10aweevil1 aBinu Antony1 aJibin Johny1 aNicolas Montagne1 aEmmanuelle Jacquin-Joly1 aRemi Capoduro1 aKhasim Cali1 aKrishna Persaud1 aMohammed Al-Saleh1 aArnab Pain00aPheromone receptor of the globally invasive quarantine pest of the palm tree, the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus)  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85102805866&doi=10.1111%2fmec.15874&partnerID=40&md5=4a41503265b6123dcb3df8893e3bd750  a2025-20390 v303 aPalm trees are of immense economic, sociocultural, touristic, and patrimonial significance all over the world, and date palm-related knowledge, traditions, and practices are now included in UNESCOs list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Of all the pests that infest these trees, the red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), is its primary enemy. The RPW is a category-1 quarantine insect pest that causes enormous economic losses in palm tree cultivation worldwide. The RPW synchronizes mass gathering on the palm tree for feeding and mating, regulated by a male-produced pheromone composed of two methyl-branched compounds, (4RS, 5RS)-4-methylnonan-5-ol (ferrugineol) and 4(RS)-methylnonan-5-one (ferrugineone). Despite the importance of odorant detection in long-range orientation towards palm trees, palm colonization, and mating, the pheromone receptor has not been identified in this species. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of the first RPW pheromone receptor, RferOR1. Using gene silencing and functional expression in Drosophila olfactory receptor neurons, we demonstrate that RferOR1 is tuned to ferrugineol and ferrugineone and binds five other structurally related molecules. We reveal the lifetime expression of RferOR1, which correlates with adult mating success irrespective of age, a factor that could explain the wide distribution and spread of this pest. As palm weevils are challenging to control based on conventional methods, elucidation of the mechanisms of pheromone detection opens new routes for mating disruption and the early detection of this pest via the development of pheromone receptor-based biosensors.  a09621083 (ISSN)