Lu_2026_Front.Insect.Sci_6_1843786

The white-spotted flower chafer (Protaetia brevitarsis) exhibits a preference for feeding on mature fruits of various crops, making it a significant agricultural pest. Pesticide application often results in fruit residues and environmental contamination, highlighting the need for eco-friendly and highly effective alternative control strategies. For instance, targeted regulation of the pest's olfactory system could be used to influence its behavior. This study focused on the enzymes responsible for terminating olfactory signals, namely odorant degrading enzymes (ODEs). Through antennal transcriptome sequencing, four related gene families comprising a total of 94 genes were identified, including 23 carboxylesterases, 40 cytochrome P450s, 21 glutathione S-transferases, and 10 UDP-glycosyltransferases. The majority of enzyme proteins possessed typical domain characteristics and key residues, suggesting their potential catalytic activity. These enzymes clustered into multiple clades in the phylogenetic tree, likely undertaking diverse physiological functions including odor substance metabolism. To more precisely determine the ODE candidates, tissue expression profiling was conducted on 17 highly expressed genes (FPKM >100). The results revealed that 16 genes were enriched or specifically expressed in the antennae. We propose these genes as primary candidates for ODEs, serving as a prioritized list for future functional validation. Our work lays the foundation for elucidating the odor signal inactivation mechanism in P. brevitarsis, expands the transcriptomic resource of ODEs in Scarabaeidae, and provides a theoretical basis for developing novel pest management targets based on olfactory behavior.