Vol. 6, Issue 3 (2018)
Spatial variation of volatile composition in musk melon (Cucumis melo L.) flowers and their cues as bee attractant
Author(s): Praghadeesh Manivannan, Sonairajan Thangaraj, Selvaraju P and Mohankumar Subbarayalu
Abstract: Flowering plants exhibits various morphological and olfactory cues to attract pollinators to visit and to promote pollination effectively. Among the signaling mechanisms, olfactory cues and honey substances play a crucial role for attraction of honeybees to flowers. The floral parts producing the volatile volatile compounds are considered as the chief source of olfactory cues. The presence of volatile compounds across the floral parts are diverse in nature. Thus the identification and spatial variation of volatile compounds across floral parts is important for better understanding of interaction between honeybees and flowering plants and also helpful to synthesis the effective pheromones to attract more honeybees and to enhance production. Hence, the present study was focused to assess the spatial variation of volatile compounds in muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) and their influence on attraction of honeybees. Fully bloomed male and female flowers of muskmelon were collected from experimental plots and segregated in the sub groups of male (whole, petals and stamen) and female (whole, petals and pistils) for further processing. Volatile compounds were extracted using soxhlet based approach followed by analysis in Gas chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Around twenty-three volatile compounds were identified across the male and female floral parts of muskmelon. Among the compounds, tetradecanal was found only in male flowers and the compounds 2,6-Octadienal 3,7-dimethyl, β-Cyclocitral and 2-phenylethanol were observed in female flowers. Interestingly, the compound 1-Limonene was observed in the petals of both male and female flowers in trace quantity (0.4 percent peak area) and the same was not detected in whole flower extract and the reproductive structures of both the sexes. Methyl geranate and 1-Nonanol were the only compounds found specifically in reproductive structures. In addition to referencing the twenty-three identified compounds against Golms Metabolome Database, the biological activity of the volatile compounds identified from the present study were assessed using PASS (Prediction of activity spectra of substances) prediction.
Pages: 1362-1370 | 756 Views 94 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Praghadeesh Manivannan, Sonairajan Thangaraj, Selvaraju P, Mohankumar Subbarayalu. Spatial variation of volatile composition in musk melon (Cucumis melo L.) flowers and their cues as bee attractant. Int J Chem Stud 2018;6(3):1362-1370.
