Floral scent compounds and emission patterns of three Styrax species

Abstract

Styrax is a gorgeous species combined with high medicinal and ornamental values, however, information about its floral scents is limited. This study aimed to reveal the floral scent compounds and the dynamic changes in the flowering process of Styrax japonicus, S. grandiflora and S. calvescens. Static headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was adopted in the present study. The results showed that 24, 22 and 22 volatile compounds were present at three flowering stages, among which linalool, ocimene, α-pinene and germacrene D dominated in different species. Terpenes were the main floral scent compounds in all species, whereas there was considerable relative content of ketones in S. japonicus. Among the major terpenes, α-pinene, ocimene and myrcene were the common volatiles in these species, while β-elemene and allo-ocimene were the specific volatiles in S. japonicus and S. calvescens, respectively. The highest content of terpenes occurred at initial flowering stage in three species. The differences in the type and content of principal compounds contributed to the fragrance diversity among these species. A solid foundation for understanding the complexity of volatile emission could be obtained from our findings, meanwhile, effective utilization of abundant terpenes in flowers of Styrax species should be applied.

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Enhanced Growth of Tea Trees via Modulating Antioxidant Activity and Secondary Metabolites

“…Terpenes are known to have great potential in plant defense and strong antioxidant activity. Until now, they have been widely utilized in producing medicine and food additives [49,50]. The contents of fatty-acidderived aroma compounds did not change significantly with the increasing concentration of ZnO-NPs, but the types and contents of fatty-acid-derived aroma components were higher at the two intermediate concentrations of 100 mg•L −1 and 150 mg•L −1 .…”

24-Epibrassinolide Promotes Fatty Acid Accumulation and the Expression of Related Genes in Styrax tonkinensis Seeds

“…The GC-MS analysis was performed on an Agilent 8890B-5977B GC-MS system (Agilent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA) coupled with an Agilent DB-FastFAME column (20 m, 0.18 mm, 0.2 μm, Agilent J&W Scientific, Folsom, CA, USA). Referring to our previous studies [ 51 , 52 ], we performed minor modifications to the measurement process.…”

An Update on the Function, Biosynthesis and Regulation of Floral Volatile Terpenoids

“…Numerous studies have focused on the upstream genes that encode the enzymes of the MEP and MVA pathways. In the MEP pathway, the expression of the DXS and DXR genes is positively correlated with the emission of volatile terpenoids throughout the flowering period in S. oblata and rose [15,57]. The Nudix hydrolase (RhNUDX1) in the cytosol hydrolyzes GPP to GP, which is converted to geraniol and is part of the biosynthetic pathway that produces the free monoterpene alcohols that contribute to fragrance in roses [51].…”

“…R2R3-MYB is the largest subclass [186]. Evidence suggests that members of the R2R3-MYB subclass may control the biosynthesis of volatile terpenoids during the full flowering stages in H. coronarium, the bud stages in S. oblata [57,93] and flowers from O. fragrans [193]. The production of anthocyanin pigment-1 (PAP1) is an R2R3-MYB transcription factor that contributes to the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids, benzenoids and anthocyanins in Arabidopsis, tobacco and petunia flowers [194], and regulates the biosynthesis of the phenylpropanoid and terpenoid scent compounds in rose flowers [195].…”