Floral scent is an important part of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from plants, and is influenced by many environmental and endogenous factors. To investigate the influence of temperature on the emission of the floral scent of Osmanthus fragrans, the number of chemical compounds and their relative release amounts from four cultivars of O. fragrans under different temperature treatme...

The guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G-protein)-coupled receptor superfamily (GPCR) is comprised of a large group of membrane proteins involved in a wide range of physiological signaling processes. The functional switch from a quiescent to an active conformation is at the heart of GPCR action. The GPCR rhodopsin has been studied extensively because of its key role in scotopic vision. The gro...

The industrial production of -carotene with the zygomycete Blakeslea trispora involves the joint cultivation of mycelia of opposite sex in the presence of -ionone and other chemical activators. We have obtained improved strains by mutation and heterokaryosis. We chose wild strains on the basis of their growth and carotene content in single and mated cultures. Following exposure of their spores ...

BACKGROUND Retinoic acid (RA) plays a fundamental role in diverse cellular activities. Cellular RA binding proteins (CRABPs) are thought to act by modulating the amount of RA available to nuclear RA receptors. CRABPs and cellular retinol-binding proteins (CRBPs) share a unique fold of two orthogonal beta-sheets that encapsulate their ligands. It has been suggested that a trio of residues are th...

Although a number of plant carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) genes have been functionally characterized in different plant species, little is known about the biochemical role and enzymatic activities of members of the subclass 4 (CCD4). To gain insight into their biological function, CCD4 genes were isolated from apple (Malus x domestica, MdCCD4), chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum x morifolium, ...

The chemical compositions of essential oils from the flower and aerial parts (i.e., leaf and branch) of Eurya japonica were determined and quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 87 and 50 compounds were detected in the oils from the flower and aerial parts, respectively. The main compounds of the flower oil were linalool (14.0%), (9Z)-tricosene (12.0%), and no...

The raw and boiled odors of celery leaves and stalks were investigated. Among 12 compounds identified as potent odorants, 3-n-butylphthalide 1, sedanenolide 2, and trans- and cis-sedanolides 3, 4 were assessed to be most contributive to the overall odor of celery. These three phthalides, (3E,5Z)-1,3,5-undecatriene, myrcene, and (E)-2-nonenal were common to both raw and boiled materials. Two com...

Sugars, organic acids and volatiles of apricot were determined by HPLC and GC-MS during fruit development and ripening, and the key taste and aroma components were identified by integrating flavor compound contents with consumers' evaluation. Sucrose and glucose were the major sugars in apricot fruit. The contents of all sugars increased rapidly, and the accumulation pattern of sugars converted...