Researchers Uncover Factors Enabling Corpse Flower to Emit Its Foul-Smelling Decaying Flesh Aroma
Researchers Uncover Factors Enabling Corpse Flower to Emit Its Foul-Smelling Decaying Flesh Aroma
If you notice a foul stink, it could be two possibilities: it's an actual rotting corpse, or if fortune favors you, it's just the famous corpse lily, also known as the titan arum. Scientists have recently uncovered the chemical explanations behind this iconic plant's notorious smell and temperature surge during blooming.
A research group headed by G. Eric Schaller from Dartmouth College has scrutinized the molecular foundations driving titan arum's pungent fragrance and its heat emission well before blooming. A recently published study in PNAS Nexus, on November 4, marked the first time that a substance called putrescine was identified in the titan arum. Although putrescine is a known chemical compound, this is the first time it has been discovered within the titan arum, where it plays a crucial role in generating the plant's distinctive odor.
The ’corpse flower’ derives its name because it is, in fact, a group of small flowers clustered around a central stalk called the spadix, which can reach up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) in height, as stated by Dartmouth College. The spadix is crowned by an appendix, and to add an extra layer of intrigue, the corpse flower typically blooms every 5 to 7 years, accompanied by the unwrapping of a petal-like layer called the spathe that transforms into a cup-shaped structure.
As the corpse flower begins to bloom, a process called thermogenesis initiates, which warms the spadix and the appendix by up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. This unusual phenomenon is less typical and less comprehensively understood in plants, as per the statement. Following this, the plant releases its signature rancid flesh smell, comprising sulfur-based compounds, intended to entice insects that will facilitate the plant's reproduction.
“The rare bloom periods are short-lived, allowing us a narrow window to research these phenomena,” stated Schaller, a molecular biologist.
Schaller and his team collected tissue samples from their local corpse flower, a 21-year-old specimen named Morphy, housed in Dartmouth's Life Sciences Greenhouse, during various blooming periods. They conducted genetic and chemical testing on the samples to examine the role of the plant's genes and chemicals in thermogenesis and smell.
“This aids our understanding of which genes are involved and which are specifically active during thermogenesis and the release of smell,” Schaller explained.
The scientists discovered that samples taken early in the corpse flower's bloom exhibited higher expression of genes linked to sulfur transportation, sulfur metabolism, and heat production in plants as opposed to other samples.
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Missouri, the Dartmouth team also used mass spectrometry to analyze the plant's amino acids—the building blocks of proteins. The results confirmed the RNA analysis findings: elevated levels of methionine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, were present in the tissue samples at the beginning of the bloom. Methionine is a precursor to sulfur-based compounds that vaporize with heat and create potent odors, as stated in the statement.
However, the researchers stumbled upon an unexpected discovery in samples taken from the titan arum's spathe: increased levels of an amino acid that aids in producing putrescine, the compound responsible for the stench of putrefying flesh.
This experimental work represents the first research to delve into the warm and stinky mechanisms behind the corpse flower (why some greenhouses around the world smell like a crime scene every half a decade) at the molecular level. Schaller's future plans involve probing the stimuli triggering the corpse flower's blooming and whether multiple flowers in the same area can synchronize this process. To add to the fun, we may be expecting even more foul odors.
The discovery of putrescine in the titan arum by Schaller's team opens up possibilities for understanding the role of this compound in the corpse flower's distinctive odor. In the future, further research could shed light on the factors that trigger the corpse flower's bloom and potential synchronization among multiple flowers.
Advances in molecular biology and chemistry, as demonstrated by Schaller's study, will undoubtedly shape our understanding of the future of plant biology and technology, offering new insights into unusual plant phenomena.