INRAE senior scientist, I lead the Sensory Ecology department of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris. My research focuses on insect chemoreception in a context of plant protection. My objectives are to decipher the molecular mechanisms of olfaction and taste, to study the contribution of chemoreception to insect adaptation, with the final aim to develop innovative biocontrol solutions against harmful insects. My group works in an international context, with the establishment of an international associated laboratory with the Institute of Plant Protection in China (CAAS, Beijing) where I have been appointed Guest Professor. I am also a corresponding member of the French Academy of Agriculture. 

Reverse chemical ecology targeting insect odorant receptors: new avenues for pest control

Odorant receptors (ORs) are transmembrane proteins expressed in animal olfactory sensory neurons. They are at the core of odorant detection since they recognize odorants and trigger a neuronal response that will be transmitted to the central nervous system, leading to specific behaviors. Interfering with OR functioning thus appears as a promising solution to disturb pest insect behavior. The so-called “reverse chemical ecology” or “molecular chemical ecology” approaches propose to use OR-ligand and/or OR-sequence characteristics to identify potential new ligands via a combination of modelling and experimentation. These approaches have the potential to accelerate the discovery of new OR agonists/antagonists. As a proof-of-concept, we targeted ORs from a crop pest moth, the cotton leafworm. Ligand-based virtual screening coupled to experimental validation led us to extend the range of semiochemicals active at the receptor and the behavioural levels. 
Our work opens new routes for i) odorant receptor function analysis, ii) a better understanding of insect odor space, and iii) the development of novel behavioural disruptors for pest insect control.