Major research progress: How does the spice come about?

In 1667, after a century-long bloody war, the Netherlands and Britain settled the dispute over the spice trade. Although this conflict is concentrated on nutmeg and cloves, botanical researchers have long known that this trouble is actually caused by two closely related organic molecules, namely eugenol and isoeugenol. Until now, researchers have not yet known how plants actually produce these odorous compounds.
Now, a team led by Eran Pichersky of the University of Michigan has clarified the biochemical pathways of the two compounds and identified the key enzymes involved. These findings have important applications for food and flower industries. The results of the study were published in the recent "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences".
The team analyzed two model organisms that are easily manipulated in the laboratory: basil and petunia, which can produce large quantities of eugenol and isoeugenol, respectively. In the wild, this type of aromatic compound can drive herbivores and bacteria while attracting pollinators. When the researchers analyzed the DNA sequence database of Perilla leaves and petunia flowers, they found a sequence that matched the found genes of another study group that produced petunia fragrance. Pichersky's team completely sequenced the gene and found it to be very similar to another gene in the Basil plant database.
The researchers speculate that these genes may encode enzymes involved in the synthesis of eugenol and isoeugenol and genetically engineer E. coli to carry this gene version of Perilla or Petunia. When these bacteria were incubated with a coniferyl alcohol in the synthetic pathway, they produced two aromatic molecules that the control bacteria did not have. In further experiments with basil, the team found a mechanism by which coniferyl alcohol was metabolized into an intermediate molecule. This intermediate molecule was then converted into eugenol in the laboratory.
This study is a major advance in the study of plant molecular biology. This enzyme has been identified as an intermediate step in the biosynthetic pathway of aromatic molecules that opens the door for humans to genetically process the aromatic components of the fragrance.

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