Green leaf volatiles.pdf

Green leaf volatiles: hydroperoxide lyase pathway of oxylipin metabolism Kenji MatsuiGreen leaf volatiles (GLVs) are C6 aldehydes, alcohols, and their esters formed through the hydroperoxide lyase pathway of oxylipin metabolism. Plants start to form GLVs after disruption of their tissues and after suffering biotic or abiotic stresses. GLV formation is thought to be regulated at the step of lipid- hydrolysis, which provides free fatty acids to the pathway. Recently, studies dissecting the physiological significance of GLVs in plants have emerged, and it has been postulated that GLVs are important molecules both for signaling within and between plants and for allowing plants and other organisms surrounding them to recognize or compete with each other.Addresses Department of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan Corresponding author: Matsui, Kenji (matsui@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp)Current Opinion in Plant Biology 2006, 9:274–280 This review comes from a themed issue on Physiology and metabolism Edited by Eran Pichersky and Krishna Niyogi Available online 3rd April 2006 1369-5266/$ – see front matter # 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI 10.1016/j.pbi.2006.03.002 Introduction ‘Green leaf volatiles’ (GLVs) are C6 aldehydes, alcohols, and their esters (Figure 1). GLVs are named for the distinctive scent that is produced when leaves are crushed or otherwise injured [1]. Studies aimed at dissecting the physiological significance of GLVs in plants are accumu- lating. It has been postulated that GLVs are important molecules for signaling within and between plants, and are also important in allowing plants and other organisms surrounding them to recognize or compete with each other. Pathway for GLV biosynthesis GLVs are usually formed from linolenic and linoleic acids (Figure 2). Lipoxygenase (LOX) catalyzes the stereospe- cific oxygenation of the position 13 of linolenic acid to form linolenic acid 13-hydroperoxide (13HP