Renaming Bombyx mori Chemosensory Proteins

This is a concise critical editorial about the functions described for a group of proteins from the family of Chemosensory Proteins (CSPs), particularly functions related to specific binding of odor chemosensory molecules. CSPs are small soluble proteins of a size comprised between 10-14 kDa and a flexible structure made of four Cysteine residues and six alpha-helices [1]. They are found to bind a large repertoire of ligand molecules mainly in the fatty acid category in most of all insect species. A specific function in binding odor chemosensory ligands has been proposed on the basis of the presence of these proteins in the sensory lymph of locusts. This finding has given the name of the whole protein superfamily, CSPs