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Updated: May 19, 2026

Electrophysiological Recording from Drosophila Trichoid Sensilla in Response to Odorants of Low Volatility
Published on: July 27, 2017
Structure-activity relationship of a broad-spectrum insect odorant receptor agonist
Robert W Taylor1, Ian M Romaine, Chao Liu
1Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.
Abstract:
Agonism of insect odorant receptor (OR) cation channels may represent a new strategy for the manipulation of destructive insect olfactory-driven behaviors. We have explored the chemical space around VUAA1, the first in class agonist of the obligate OR co-receptor ion channel (Orco), and describe novel compound analogues with increased potency across insect taxa. Functional analyses reveal several of these VUAA1 structural analogues display significantly greater potency as compared to the activity of the previously described active compounds in mobility-based behavioral assays on mosquito larvae.
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