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. 1998 Feb;116(2):599-604.
doi: 10.1104/pp.116.2.599.

Floral scent production in Clarkia breweri. III. Enzymatic synthesis and emission of benzenoid esters

N Dudareva  1 , R A Raguso, J Wang, J R Ross, E Pichersky
Affiliations

Floral scent production in Clarkia breweri. III. Enzymatic synthesis and emission of benzenoid esters

N Dudareva et al. Plant Physiol. 1998 Feb.

Abstract

The fragrance of Clarkia breweri (Onagraceae), a California annual plant, includes three benzenoid esters: benzylacetate, benzylbenzoate, and methylsalicylate. Here we report that petal tissue was responsible for the benzylacetate and methylsalicylate emission, whereas the pistil was the main source of benzylbenzoate. The activities of two novel enzymes, acetyl-coenzyme A:benzylalcohol acetyltransferase (BEAT), which catalyzes the acetyl esterification of benzylalcohol, and S-adenosyl-L-methionine:salicylic acid carboxyl methyltransferase, which catalyzes the methyl esterification of salicylic acid, were also highest in petal tissue and absent in leaves. In addition, the activity of both enzymes in the various floral organs was developmentally and differentially regulated. S-Adenosyl-L-methionine:salicylic acid carboxyl methyltransferase activity in petals peaked in mature buds and declined during the next few days after anthesis, and it showed a strong, positive correlation with the emission of methylsalicylate. The levels of BEAT activity and benzylacetate emission in petals also increased in parallel as the buds matured and the flowers opened, but as emission began to decline on the 2nd d after anthesis, BEAT activity continued to increase and remained high until the end of the lifespan of the flower.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Emission of benzenoid esters from C. breweri flowers as measured by headspace collection at 12-h intervals and GC-MS analysis. A, Emission of benzylacetate; B, emission of benzylbenzoate; and C, emission of methylsalicylate. Data are means ± se (n ≥ 3).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Emission of benzenoid esters from C. breweri flowers and flower parts on d 1 of anthesis as measured by headspace collection at 24-h intervals and GC-MS analysis. Black bars, Benzylacetate; shaded bars, benzylbenzoate; and open bars, methylsalicylate. Data are means ± se (n = 5–8).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The reactions catalyzed by BEAT and SAMT.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Levels of different BEAT and SAMT activities in different parts of the flower during the lifespan of the flowers. A, BEAT activity; and B, SAMT activity. For each data point, flowers from three different plants were combined for each assay, and two to three enzyme assays were conducted and the mean was obtained. se values for data points on d 1 of anthesis are given in Table I; se values for other time points are similar. ▪, Petals; ○, stigma; •, style; ▴, stamens; and □, sepals. pkat, Picomole of product per second.
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