Impact of d-limonene synthase up- or down-regulation on sweet orange fruit and juice odor perception.
Citrus fruits are characterized by a complex mixture of volatiles making up their characteristic aromas, being the d-limonene the most abundant one. However, its role on citrus fruit and juice odor is controversial. Transgenic oranges engineered for alterations in the presence or concentration of few related chemical groups enable asking precise questions about their contribution to overall odor, either positive or negative, as perceived by the human nose. Here, either down- or up-regulation of a d-limonene synthase allowed us to infer that a decrease of as much as 51 times in d-limonene and an increase of as much as 3.2 times in linalool in juice were neutral for odor perception while an increase of only 3 times in ethyl esters stimulated the preference of 66% of the judges. The ability to address these questions presents exciting opportunities to understand the basic principles of selection of food.
Departamento de Biotecnología y Mejora Vegetal de Especies Cultivadas, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IBMCP-CSIC), Av. Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n. 46022 Valencia, Spain; Fundo de Defesa da Citricultura, 14807-040 Vila Melhado, Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil.
Ana
A
Rodríguez
Departamento de Biotecnología y Mejora Vegetal de Especies Cultivadas, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IBMCP-CSIC), Av. Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n. 46022 Valencia, Spain; Fundo de Defesa da Citricultura, 14807-040 Vila Melhado, Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil.
Josep E
JE
Peris
Centro de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), carretera Moncada-Náquera Km. 4.5, 46113 Moncada, Valencia, Spain.
Ana
A
Redondo
National Institute of Fruit Tree Science (NIFTS), National Agriculture and Bio-oriented Research Organization (NARO), Sizuoka, Shizuoka 424-0292, Japan.
Takehiko
T
Shimada
Departamento de análisis sensorial, Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATA-CSIC), C/Catedrático Agustín Escardino Benlloch, 7, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain.
Elvira
E
Costell
Departamento de análisis sensorial, Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATA-CSIC), C/Catedrático Agustín Escardino Benlloch, 7, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain.
Inmaculada
I
Carbonell
Centro de Tecnología Poscosecha, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), carretera Moncada-Náquera Km. 4.5, 46113 Moncada, Valencia, Spain.
Cristina
C
Rojas
Departamento de Biotecnología y Mejora Vegetal de Especies Cultivadas, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IBMCP-CSIC), Av. Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n. 46022 Valencia, Spain; Fundo de Defesa da Citricultura, 14807-040 Vila Melhado, Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: lpenya@fundecitrus.com.br.
Leandro
L
Peña
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D032084:Citrus sinensis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology*; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology; D000067030:Fruit and Vegetable Juices / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D019753:Intramolecular Lyases / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
D019753:Intramolecular Lyases; C040265:pinene cyclase I
Alcohols; Citrus sinensis; Ethyl esters; Genetically-modified fruits; OAV; Orange odor perception; Sensory panel; d-Limonene