Description:
<jats:title>Significance</jats:title>
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Pheromone recognition by insect olfactory organs is critical for the ability of insects to locate mates. The silkworm moth
<jats:italic>Bombyx mori</jats:italic>
has long served as a model organism for studies of this process. Key components in the sensory organs have been identified, including the pheromone bombykol, pheromone-binding protein (BmorPBP), ligand-degrading enzymes, and the pheromone receptor, but many details of the mechanism allowing highly sensitive and selective pheromone detection are still elusive. Here, it is shown that a pH-dependent conformational polymorphism of BmorPBP affords highly selective transport of the pheromone, demonstrating an active role for BmorPBP in ligand discrimination.
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