2.4.1 Male adults stimulated by female adults
The new emerged virgin male and female adults (100 individuals per replicate) were separately kept in two different artificial climate cabinets (PXZ-430B, Ningbo Jiangnan Instrument Factory, China) for 3 days since eclosion. When male and female moths were at their mating peak after 3 days, they were placed with 1:1 ratio in the same artificial climate cabinet with a breathable barrier avoiding mating (Fang, 2017) (Figure S1 A). After 2 h, the antennae of male adults were collected and quickly frozen in the liquid nitrogen. Expression levels of GmolCXEs in male antennae before and after female stimulation were measured by qRT-PCR. The adults were fed with a 10% honey solution. Three biological replicates were performed.