3D-ORco

The main 3D-ORco’s goal is to obtain a deep understanding of the rules underlying the recognition of odorant molecules by the universal component of the insects’ olfaction system, the 7-transmembrane Odorant Receptor coreceptor (ORco), which is highly conserved across insect taxa including both disease vectors and agricultural pests.

Most importantly, the 3D-ORco project will pave the way for the discovery, by ORco-structure-based approaches, of multiple new and effective disruptors of host seeking behavior to be employed in the effort to reduce the spread of insect-transmitted infectious diseases as well as control insects of agricultural importance.