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Plant Volatile Organic Compounds

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 13240

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Division of Pharmacology, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: secondary metabolites; ethnopharmacology; abiotic stress; abiotic stress tolerance; cannabis sativa; cannabaceae; medical marijuana; phytocannabinoids; CB1 receptor; cannabidiol; tetrahydrocannabinol; CB2 receptor; cannabinoids; cannabinoid receptor agonists; cannabinoid receptor antagonists; cannabinoid receptor modulators
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants emit complex mixtures of low molecular weight volatile molecules containing nitrogen and aromatic compounds named volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These airborne compounds are constitutively released or synthesized in reaction to biotic and abiotic stimuli and perform different ecological functions, such as protecting plants from extreme environmental conditions, attracting pollinating insects, recalling predators of arthropods or herbivorous parasites and communication among plants. Given the ephemeral nature of these molecules and their short range of action, some authors have doubted the ecological and evolutionary meaning of plant communication. Indeed, the spread of these molecules in the environment has been associated with an inevitable consequence or after the attack of harmful external agents, given by their volatility. On the other hand, the development of this biochemical mechanism in plants indicates a much broader role for these chemicals that goes beyond self-defense. This Special Issue will contain articles on the chemical biology, organic chemistry and pharmacology of VOCs. Furthermore, particular attention will also be given to the chemical analytical aspects of the VOCs.

Dr. Andrea Mastinu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Plant volatile organic
  • Organic chemicals
  • Biosynthesis of VOCs
  • Plant defence
  • Pharmacology of VOCs
  • Smart agricolture
  • Chemical–analytical techniques

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

7 pages, 409 KiB  
Communication
Chemical Composition and Attractant Activity of Volatiles from Rhus potaninii to The Spring Aphid Kaburagia rhusicola
by Xiang Zhu, Li Li, Tom Hsiang, Yuping Zha, Zhixiong Zhou, Ran Chen, Xian Wang, Qinglai Wu and Junkai Li
Molecules 2020, 25(15), 3412; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25153412 - 28 Jul 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2200
Abstract
Rhus potaninii Maxim, a type of sumac, is an economically important tree widely cultivated in mountainous areas of western and central China. A gall, called the bellied gallnut, induced by the aphid, Kaburagia rhusicola Takagi, is important in the food, medical, and chemical [...] Read more.
Rhus potaninii Maxim, a type of sumac, is an economically important tree widely cultivated in mountainous areas of western and central China. A gall, called the bellied gallnut, induced by the aphid, Kaburagia rhusicola Takagi, is important in the food, medical, and chemical industries in China. Volatiles from R. potaninii were found to attract K. rhusicola, but little is known about them. The chemical composition of these volatiles was investigated using GC–MS analysis and Y-tube olfactometer methods. Twenty-five compounds accounting for 55.3% of the volatiles were identified, with the highest proportion of 1-(4-ethylphenyl)ethanone (11.8%), followed by 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)ethanone (11.2%) and p-cymen-7-ol (7.1%). These findings provide a theoretical basis for the preparation of attractants and could eventually lead to increased bellied gallnut yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Volatile Organic Compounds)
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17 pages, 1500 KiB  
Article
Mentha piperita L. Micropropagation and the Potential Influence of Plant Growth Regulators on Volatile Organic Compound Composition
by Jacek Łyczko, Krystian Piotrowski, Kornelia Kolasa, Renata Galek and Antoni Szumny
Molecules 2020, 25(11), 2652; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25112652 - 7 Jun 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5327
Abstract
Due to the industrial use of Mentha piperita L. (peppermint), it is important to develop an optimal method to obtain standardized plant material with specific quality parameters. In vitro cultures may allow the production of desirable odor-active compounds (OACs) and improve their share [...] Read more.
Due to the industrial use of Mentha piperita L. (peppermint), it is important to develop an optimal method to obtain standardized plant material with specific quality parameters. In vitro cultures may allow the production of desirable odor-active compounds (OACs) and improve their share in the plant aroma profile. There are two types of explants that are commonly used, apical meristems and nodal segments. In this study, the best overall effects were shown to be produced by the combination of MS medium with the addition of 0.5 mg·dm−3 indolyl-3-butyric acid. In this case, a very high degree of rooting was found (97% for apical meristems, 100% for nodal meristems), lateral shoots were induced in 83% of both types of explant, and the content of OACs in the plant aroma profile increased significantly, especially menthofurolactone and cis-carvone oxide, responsible in this case for a characteristic mint-like aroma. The comparison of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) obtained from plants of different origin by GC-MS showed no significant differences in their qualitative composition. Moreover, in-vitro-cultivated peppermint on a medium containing 0.5 mg·dm−3 2-isopentinloadenine and 0.1 mg·dm−3 indolyl-3-acetic acid showed significant amounts of menthofurolactone in its VOC composition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Volatile Organic Compounds)
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17 pages, 6859 KiB  
Article
Variation in Terpene Profiles of Thymus vulgaris in Water Deficit Stress Response
by Atiyeh Mahdavi, Parviz Moradi and Andrea Mastinu
Molecules 2020, 25(5), 1091; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25051091 - 28 Feb 2020
Cited by 85 | Viewed by 4986
Abstract
Thyme (Thymus spp.) volatiles predominantly consisting of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, serve as antimicrobial, antiseptic and antioxidant in phytomedicine. They also play a key role in plants as secondary metabolites via their potential role against herbivores, attracting pollinators and abiotic stress tolerance. Plant [...] Read more.
Thyme (Thymus spp.) volatiles predominantly consisting of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, serve as antimicrobial, antiseptic and antioxidant in phytomedicine. They also play a key role in plants as secondary metabolites via their potential role against herbivores, attracting pollinators and abiotic stress tolerance. Plant volatiles are affected by different environmental factors including drought. Here, the effect of prolonged water deficit stress on volatile composition was studied on the sensitive and tolerant thyme plant cultivars (T. vulgaris Var. Wagner and T. vulgaris Var. Varico3, respectively). Volatile sampling along with morpho–physiological parameters such as soil moisture, water potential, shoot dry weight, photosynthetic rate and water content measurements were performed on one-month-old plants subsequent to water withholding at 4-day intervals until the plants wilted. The tolerant and sensitive plants had clearly different responses at physiological and volatile levels. The most stress-induced changes on the plants’ physiological traits occurred in the photosynthetic rates, where the tolerant plants maintained their photosynthesis similar to the control ones until the 8th day of the drought stress period. While the analysis of the volatile compounds (VOCs) of the sensitive thyme plants displayed the same pattern for almost all of them, in the tolerant plants, the comparison of the pattern of changes in the tolerant plants revealed that the changes could be classified into three separate groups. Our experimental and theoretical studies totally revealed that the most determinant compounds involved in drought stress adaptation included α-phellandrene, O-cymene, γ-terpinene and β-caryophyelene. Overall, it can be concluded that in the sensitive plants trade-off between growth and defense, the tolerant ones simultaneously activate their stress response mechanism and continue their growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Volatile Organic Compounds)
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