Sesquiterpene Variation in West Australian Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum).

West Australian sandalwood () has long been exploited for its fragrant, sesquiterpene-rich heartwood; however sandalwood fragrance qualities vary substantially, which is of interest to the sandalwood industry. We investigated metabolite profiles of trees from the arid northern and southeastern and semi-arid southwestern regions of West Australia for patterns in composition and co-occurrence of sesquiterpenes. Total sesquiterpene content was similar across the entire sample collection; however sesquiterpene composition was highly variable.

The transcriptome of sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis in heartwood xylem of Western Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum).

The fragrant heartwood oil of West Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) contains a mixture of sesquiterpene olefins and alcohols, including variable levels of the valuable sesquiterpene alcohols, α- and β-santalol, and often high levels of E,E-farnesol. Transcriptome analysis revealed sequences for a nearly complete set of genes of the sesquiterpenoid biosynthetic pathway in this commercially valuable sandalwood species. Transcriptome sequences were produced from heartwood xylem tissue of a farnesol-rich individual tree.

Biosynthesis of Sandalwood Oil: Santalum album CYP76F cytochromes P450 produce santalols and bergamotol.

Sandalwood oil is one of the world's most highly prized essential oils, appearing in many high-end perfumes and fragrances. Extracted from the mature heartwood of several Santalum species, sandalwood oil is comprised mainly of sesquiterpene olefins and alcohols. Four sesquiterpenols, α-, β-, and epi-β-santalol and α-exo-bergamotol, make up approximately 90% of the oil of Santalum album.

Sandalwood fragrance biosynthesis involves sesquiterpene synthases of both the terpene synthase (TPS)-a and TPS-b subfamilies, including santalene synthases.

Sandalwood oil is one of the worlds most highly prized fragrances. To identify the genes and encoded enzymes responsible for santalene biosynthesis, we cloned and characterized three orthologous terpene synthase (TPS) genes SaSSy, SauSSy, and SspiSSy from three divergent sandalwood species; Santalum album, S. austrocaledonicum, and S.

Characterization of Brassica nigra collections using simple sequence repeat markers reveals distinct groups associated with geographical location, and frequent mislabelling of species identity.

Genetic diversity of 180 Brassica nigra (L.) Kochgenotypes from 60 different accessions was evaluated using 15 simple sequence repeat markers with known locations on the Brassica A, B, and C genomes. Two lines each from Brassica juncea (L.

Isolation of cDNAs and functional characterisation of two multi-product terpene synthase enzymes from sandalwood, Santalum album L.

Sandalwood, Santalum album (Santalaceae) is a small hemi-parasitic tropical tree of great economic value. Sandalwood timber contains resins and essential oils, particularly the santalols, santalenes and dozens of other minor sesquiterpenoids. These sesquiterpenoids provide the unique sandalwood fragrance.

Quantitative co-occurrence of sesquiterpenes; a tool for elucidating their biosynthesis in Indian sandalwood, Santalum album.

A chemotaxonomic approach was used to investigate biosynthetic relationships between heartwood sesquiterpenes in Indian sandalwood, Santalum album L. Strong, linear relationships exist between four structural classes of sesquiterpenes; alpha- and beta-santalenes and bergamotene; gamma- and beta-curcumene; beta-bisabolene and alpha-bisabolol and four unidentified sesquiterpenes. All samples within the heartwood yielded the same co-occurrence patterns, however wood from young trees tended to be more variable.

Cyto-evolution of Boronia genomes revealed by fluorescent in situ hybridization with rDNA probes.

The physical location of the 25S-26S rDNA sequences was examined in 11 taxa of nine species of Boronia. In diploid species, two rDNA sites were detected in Boronia clavata (2n = 14), Boronia pinnata 'White' (2n = 22), and Boronia chartacea (2n = 32); four in Boronia megastigma (2n = 14) and Boronia denticulata (2n = 18); six in Boronia pinnata 'Pink' (2n = 22); and eight in Boronia molloyae (2n = 16). Eleven sites were found in Boronia heterophylla 'Red' and 'Near White' (2n = 15), but only two active nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) were observed.