title: Generation of phenylpropanoid pathway-derived volatiles in transgenic plants: rose alcohol acetyltransferase produces phenylethyl acetate and benzyl acetate in petunia flowers.
abstract: Esters are important contributors to the aroma of numerous flowers and fruits. Acetate esters such as geranyl acetate, phenylethyl acetate and benzyl acetate are generated as a result of the action of alcohol acetyltransferases (AATs). Numerous homologous AATs from various plants have been characterized using in-vitro assays. To study the function of rose alcohol acetyltransferase (RhAAT) in planta, we generated transgenic petunia plants expressing the rose gene under the control of a CaMV-35S promoter. Although the preferred substrate of RhAAT in vitro is geraniol, in transgenic petunia flowers, it used phenylethyl alcohol and benzyl alcohol to produce the corresponding acetate esters, not generated by control flowers. The level of benzyl alcohol emitted by the flowers of different transgenic lines was ca. three times higher than that of phenylethyl alcohol, which corresponded to the ratio between the respective products, i.e. ca. three times more benzyl acetate than phenylethyl acetate. Feeding of transgenic petunia tissues with geraniol or octanol led to the production of their respective acetates, suggesting the dependence of volatile production on substrate availability.
authors.affiliation: The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guterman
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masci
authors.forename: Xinlu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Negre
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pichersky
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dudareva
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vainstein
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D019905:Benzyl Alcohol / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D001593:Benzyl Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D032306:Petunia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D020005:Propanols / Q000378:metabolism*; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D027826:Rosa / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013729:Terpenes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D001593:Benzyl Compounds; D020005:Propanols; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013729:Terpenes; C046412:benzyl acetate; C439395:1-phenylpropanol; C432872:geranyl acetate; C054590:2-phenylethyl acetate; C079238:alcohol O-acetyltransferase; D019905:Benzyl Alcohol; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol; C059676:octyl acetate