From Genomes to Function: Bioinformatics and Multi-Omics Approaches to Insect Chemosensory Receptors

Insect chemosensory receptors are essential for detecting environmental chemical cues that influence insect survival and behavior. Advances in genome and transcriptome sequencing have expanded the identification of odorant receptors (ORs), gustatory receptors (GRs), and ionotropic receptors (IRs), while also providing new opportunities to investigate their expression, evolution, and function. Nevertheless, the functions of many identified receptors remain unknown. This review summarizes recent methods and findings in insect chemosensory receptor research, covering receptor identification and annotation using genomic and transcriptomic data, cell-specific expression analysis using single-cell and single-nucleus sequencing, and evolutionary analysis based on comparative genomics and phylogenetics. We also discuss structural studies of OR–Orco complexes and GRs, computational approaches to receptor–ligand prediction, including structure modeling, molecular docking, and machine learning, and experimental methods for functional characterization. By examining how these approaches complement one another, we highlight current progress and outstanding challenges in linking receptor sequences to ligand recognition and biological function.