Molecular Biology of Flower Scents

建议调查Clarkia的香味产生， 原产于加州的一个一年生植物属。 克拉基亚啤酒厂是 是该属中唯一开有香味花朵的植物。 C.布韦里 访花的主要是天蛾。 无臭的花朵 C. concinna，一个密切相关的物种，主要是访问 蝴蝶和苍蝇，而所有其他异型杂交Clarkia 物种由蜜蜂授粉。 我们已经确定了四个主要 C.的香气成分。啤酒花 它们是芳樟醇， 氧化芳樟醇、乙酸苄酯和水杨酸甲酯，所有 制造香水的重要成分。 我们建议 进行正式的基因研究的基因控制 这些化合物在C. breweri，并使用分子 生物技术分离编码酶的基因 芳樟醇合成酶（LS）催化芳樟醇的合成。 C.啤酒制作 芳樟醇，而它的近亲没有，将被检查。 %%% 花的气味对植物的繁殖有着深远的影响 在许多人造产品中也很重要。 但 花香味剂的合成几乎没有研究， 遗传和分子水平以及从这项工作中获得的结果 将对这一过程产生重要的见解。

It is proposed to investigate scent production in Clarkia, a genus of annual plants native to California. Clarkia breweri is the only species in the genus with scented flowers. C. breweri flowers are visited mostly by hawkmoths. The odorless flowers of C. concinna, a closely related species, are visited mostly by butterflies and flies, whereas all other outcrossing Clarkia species are pollinated by bees. We have identified four major components of the scent of C. breweri flowers. They are linalool, linalool oxide, benzyl acetate, and methyl salicylate, all important ingredients in manufactured perfumes. We propose to conduct a formal genetic study of the genes controlling the production of these compounds in C. breweri, and to use molecular biological techniques to isolate the gene encoding the enzyme linalool synthase (LS) that catalyzed the synthesis of linalool. The genetic changes underlying the ability of C. breweri to make linalool, while its close relatives do not, will be examined. %%% Flower scents have profound effects on the reproduction of plants and are also important in many man-made products. However, the synthesis of flower scents has been scarcely investigated on the genetic and molecular level and the results obtained from this work will produce significant insights into this process.