Novel Floral Scent Compounds from Night-Blooming Araceae Pollinated by Cyclocephaline Scarabs (Melolonthidae, Cyclocephalini)

Author(s)
Artur Campos D. Maia, Christopher Grimm, Mario Schubert, Florian Etl, Eduardo Gomes Gonçalves, Daniela Maria Do Amaral Ferraz Navarro, Stefan Schulz, Stefan Dötterl
Abstract

Nocturnal flowering plants often release strong scents to attract their pollinators. Among night active flower visitors are cyclocephaline scarab beetles, which have been demonstrated to respond to uncommon volatile organic compounds released in high amounts by their host plants. In Araceae, the molecular structure of several such compounds is yet to be unveiled. We investigated headspace floral scent samples of Philodendron squamiferum, Thaumatophyllum mello-baretoanum, and Xanthosoma hylaeae by a variety of approaches, leading to the identification of novel compounds. Dehydrojasmone, (Z)-4-methylene-5-(pent-2-en-1-yl)cyclopent-2-en-1-one (1), (Z)-3-methylene-2-(pent-2-en-1-yl)cyclopentyl acetate (isojasmyl acetate, 3), and (E)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7-trien-5-yl acetate (4) had not been previously reported, while full analytical data of the recently described (Z)-3-methylene-2-(pent-2-en-1-yl)cyclopentan-1-ol (isojasmol, 2) are presented here. All these compounds are derived from more common precursors, (Z)-jasmone and (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, likely through biosynthetic “post-processing”.

Organisation(s)
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research
External organisation(s)
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Dom Bosco Catholic University
Journal
Journal of Chemical Ecology
Volume
45
Pages
204-213
No. of pages
10
ISSN
1573-1561
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-018-1018-1
Publication date
02-2019
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
106008 Botany, 106012 Evolutionary research, 106042 Systematic botany
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Biochemistry
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/novel-floral-scent-compounds-from-nightblooming-araceae-pollinated-by-cyclocephaline-scarabs-melolonthidae-cyclocephalini(48f99e1e-13d3-45b8-a872-f942086f22a5).html