The Yield of essential oils in Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtaceae) is regulated through transcript abundance of genes in the MEP pathway

Hamish Webb; Robert Lanfear; John Hamill; William J. Foley; Carsten Külheim

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060631

The Yield of essential oils in Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtaceae) is regulated through transcript abundance of genes in the MEP pathway

Hamish Webb, Robert Lanfear, John Hamill, William J. Foley, Carsten Külheim

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31 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Medicinal tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) leaves contain large amounts of an essential oil, dominated by monoterpenes. Several enzymes of the chloroplastic methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway are hypothesised to act as bottlenecks to the production of monoterpenes. We investigated, whether transcript abundance of genes encoding for enzymes of the MEP pathway were correlated with foliar terpenes in M. alternifolia using a population of 48 individuals that ranged in their oil concentration from 39 -122 mg x g DM⁻¹. Our study shows that most genes in the MEP pathway are co-regulated and that the expression of multiple genes within the MEP pathway is correlated with oil yield. Using multiple regression analysis, variation in expression of MEP pathway genes explained 87% of variation in foliar monoterpene concentrations. The data also suggest that sesquiterpenes in M. alternifolia are synthesised, at least in part, from isopentenyl pyrophosphate originating from the plastid via the MEP pathway.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	e60631-1-e60631-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	PLoS ONE
Volume	8
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0060631
Publication status	Published - 2013
Externally published	Yes

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Copyright the Author(s) 2013. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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title = "The Yield of essential oils in Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtaceae) is regulated through transcript abundance of genes in the MEP pathway",

abstract = "Medicinal tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) leaves contain large amounts of an essential oil, dominated by monoterpenes. Several enzymes of the chloroplastic methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway are hypothesised to act as bottlenecks to the production of monoterpenes. We investigated, whether transcript abundance of genes encoding for enzymes of the MEP pathway were correlated with foliar terpenes in M. alternifolia using a population of 48 individuals that ranged in their oil concentration from 39 -122 mg x g DM⁻¹. Our study shows that most genes in the MEP pathway are co-regulated and that the expression of multiple genes within the MEP pathway is correlated with oil yield. Using multiple regression analysis, variation in expression of MEP pathway genes explained 87% of variation in foliar monoterpene concentrations. The data also suggest that sesquiterpenes in M. alternifolia are synthesised, at least in part, from isopentenyl pyrophosphate originating from the plastid via the MEP pathway.",

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AU - Hamill, John

AU - Foley, William J.

AU - Külheim, Carsten

N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2013. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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N2 - Medicinal tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) leaves contain large amounts of an essential oil, dominated by monoterpenes. Several enzymes of the chloroplastic methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway are hypothesised to act as bottlenecks to the production of monoterpenes. We investigated, whether transcript abundance of genes encoding for enzymes of the MEP pathway were correlated with foliar terpenes in M. alternifolia using a population of 48 individuals that ranged in their oil concentration from 39 -122 mg x g DM⁻¹. Our study shows that most genes in the MEP pathway are co-regulated and that the expression of multiple genes within the MEP pathway is correlated with oil yield. Using multiple regression analysis, variation in expression of MEP pathway genes explained 87% of variation in foliar monoterpene concentrations. The data also suggest that sesquiterpenes in M. alternifolia are synthesised, at least in part, from isopentenyl pyrophosphate originating from the plastid via the MEP pathway.

AB - Medicinal tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) leaves contain large amounts of an essential oil, dominated by monoterpenes. Several enzymes of the chloroplastic methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway are hypothesised to act as bottlenecks to the production of monoterpenes. We investigated, whether transcript abundance of genes encoding for enzymes of the MEP pathway were correlated with foliar terpenes in M. alternifolia using a population of 48 individuals that ranged in their oil concentration from 39 -122 mg x g DM⁻¹. Our study shows that most genes in the MEP pathway are co-regulated and that the expression of multiple genes within the MEP pathway is correlated with oil yield. Using multiple regression analysis, variation in expression of MEP pathway genes explained 87% of variation in foliar monoterpene concentrations. The data also suggest that sesquiterpenes in M. alternifolia are synthesised, at least in part, from isopentenyl pyrophosphate originating from the plastid via the MEP pathway.

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JF - PLoS ONE

IS - 3

ER -

The Yield of essential oils in Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtaceae) is regulated through transcript abundance of genes in the MEP pathway

Abstract

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