Roses Have Hidden Genes That Could Make Them Smell Even Sweeter
A researcher extracting oils from rose petalsA. Cheziere/Universite Jean MonnetRoses are an ornamental plant, bred over hundreds of generations to have their distinctive shape and color. But what they gained in visual appeal they lost in their olfactory potency—that is, roses used to smell even sweeter than they do now. By manipulating some of the genes that control the rose’s fragrance, a team of French researchers has discovered new enzymes that could make roses smell more potent, according to a study published today in Science.roses used to smell even sweeter than they do nowPlant scents are a complex balancing act between chemicals—for the scent of roses, researchers have identified more than 400 chemicals, and more than 1,700 in all plants. Alcohols are among the most common scent-generators, and researchers have targeted one kind of alcohol in particular, called monoterpenes, which are key to the flowers’ fragrance.In...