Molecular Biology of Floral Scent Production

Floral scent is very important for successful pollination and therefore fruit development of many plant species. The objective of our research is to understand the molecular mechanisms of floral scent formation in plants. To achieve this goal, biochemical, genetic and molecular approaches are used to identify the pathways, enzymes and genes involved in the production of scent volatiles. Current projects include: (1) the isolation and molecular characterization of genes encoding enzymes of biosynthetic pathways involved in the synthesis of volatile esters and (2) regulation of floral scent production during flower development.

Selected Publications

• Dudareva N., L.M. Murfitt, C.J. Mann, N. Gorenstein, N. Kolosova, C.M. Kish, C. Bonham, and K. Wood. 2000. Developmental regulation of methylbenzoate biosynthesis and emission in snapdragon flowers, Antirrhinum majus. The Plant Cell, accepted. 
• Dudareva, N. and E. Pichersky. 2000. Biochemical and molecular genetic aspects of floral scents. Plant Phys. 122:1-7. 
• Mondragon, C.J., N. Dudareva, and B.P. Bordelon. 2000. DNA extraction from cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) and other cacti. Amer. J. Hort. (in press). 
• Dudareva, N. 1999. Floral scent production in snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus. Flowering Newsletter 28:32-38. 
• Nam, K.H., N. Dudareva, and E. Pichersky. 1999. Characterization of benzylalcohol acetyltransferases in scented and non-scented Clarkia species. Plant Cell Physiol. 40:916-923. 
• Dudareva, N., B. Piechulla, and E. Pickersky. 1999. Biogenesis of floral scents. Horticultural Reviews 24:31-54. 
• Wang, J., N. Dudareva, C.M. Kish, J.E. Simon, E. Lewinsohn, and E. Pichersky. 1999. Nucleotide sequences of two cDNAs encoding caffeic acid O-methyltransferases (accession Nos. AF154917 and AF154918) from sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). Plant Phys. 120:1205.