Pheromone binding proteins in insects with emphasis on their molecular transport and physiological functions

Pheromone binding proteins (PBPs) in insects are one branch of multigene family of odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and play an important role in the recognition of sex pheromone. This paper reviews the molecular characteristics, binding and releasing mechanisms with pheromone, physiological functions, structure and evolutionary genomics of pheromone binding proteins in insects in details, with particular reference to Lepidoptera.