Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
of. the. carotenoid. cleavage. dioxygenase. CCD4 . was. demonstrated. to. give. chrysan-
themum. lowers. white. color. instead. of. yellow. 32 . To. date,. this. area. of. research. is.
under-explored.and.could.have.considerable.potential.for.development.of.new.color.
phenotypes.. Manipulating. CCD. expression. also. opens. up. the. exciting. possibili-
ties.of engineering.both.color.and.fragrance.since.many.of.the.apocarotenoids.are.
important.loral.fragrance.volatile.compounds. 33,34
PLANT VOLATILES
Thousands. of. plant. volatiles. have. been. identiied. and. are. generally. classiied. into.
four.major.groups.including.terpenes,.phenylpropanoids,.fatty.acid.derivatives,.and.
amino. acid. derivatives. (reviewed. by. Dudareva. and. Pichersky 35 ).. Only. subsets. of.
the.thousands.of.plant.volatiles.identiied.are.found.in.any.given.species,.thus.plant.
volatiles.are.generally.thought.of.as.secondary.metabolites.with.their.synthesis.being.
highly.intertwined.with.primary.metabolism.(reviewed.by.Pichersky.et.al. 36 )..Plant.
volatile. production. occurs. in. many. plant. tissues. including. leaves,. lowers,. fruits,.
and.roots.with.functions.relating.to.pollinator.attraction,.seed.dispersal,.inter-.and.
intra-plant. communication,. and. defense.. Many. genes. involved. with. plant. volatile.
synthesis.have.been.cloned.and.manipulated.in.transgenic.plants.resulting.in.altered.
volatile.proiles..These.studies.demonstrate.that.plant.volatile.proiles.can.be.geneti-
cally.engineered.and.will.be.useful.in.improving.loral.fragrance.and.plant.defense.
f loral f raGrance
Floral.fragrance.has.been.a.source.of.pleasure.and.reverence.in.human.culture.where.
fragrant.lowers.have.had.places.in.religious.ceremonies.and.societal.customs.since.
ancient.times..Modern.technology.has.allowed.lower.fragrance.proiles.to.be.chemi-
cally.copied.for.use.in.cosmetics,.perfumes,.home.fragrances,.aromatherapy.items,.
cleaning. products,. and. detergents,. to. name. a. few. popular. uses.. Many. of. the. com-
pounds.found.in.loral.fragrance.are.documented.to.have.positive.effects.on.human.
behavior.and.therefore.could.be.used.as.tools.for.improving.the.health.and.welfare.
of.humanity. 37-39 .There.are.minimal.publicly.available.marketing.research.data.that.
investigate.the.value.added.by.making.new.lower.varieties.with.enhanced.fragrance..
One.marketing.report.on. Anthurium .suggests.that.about.60%.of.consumers.agreed.
fragrance. would. add. value. to. the. product. 40 . Floraculture. International. reported. in.
November. 2008. that. the. demand. for. fragrant. roses. was. increasing. but. the. num-
ber. of. “fragrant”. roses. available. is. minimal. (http://www.loracultureinternational.
com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=125&Itemid=159&ed=25)..
Fragrance.has.historically.not.been.the.focus.of.ornamental.plant.breeding.programs.
and. lowers. have. lost. their. characteristic. fragrance. since. breeders. are. primarily.
concentrating.on.lower.color.and.longevity,.plant.growth.habit,.disease.resistance,.
among.other.genetic.factors..Genetic.engineering.could.help.overcome.the.hurdles.
of.reintroducing.this.trait.into.crops.where.there.is.demand.for.fragrant.lowers.and.
would.also.provide.testing.material.for.determining.the.real.market.value.of.this.trait.
Over.the.past.decade,.our.understanding.of.the.biochemistry.and.physiology.of.
loral.scent.has.progressed.rapidly..Floral.scent.is.a.highly.variable,.complex.mixture.
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