Botany, agronomy and biotechnology of Pelargonium used for essential oil production

Pelargonium is one of the seven genera belonging to the Geraniaceae family, and includes almost 280 species mainly coming from South Africa. Some of these species have a strong rose scent mostly due to geraniol and citronellol. For a long time, hybrids between P. graveolens or P. radens and P. capit...

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Published inPhytochemistry reviews Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 935 - 960
Main Authors Blerot, B., Baudino, S., Prunier, C., Demarne, F., Toulemonde, B., Caissard, J.-C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.10.2016
Springer Nature B.V
Springer Verlag
Subjects
Adaptability
Agronomy
Angiosperms
Aridity
Batch production
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biotechnology
Botany
Chemical composition
Chemistry/Food Science
Citronellol
Cloning
Cultivation
Essential oils
Genes
Genetic modification
Geraniaceae
Hybrids
Life Sciences
Oils & fats
Organic Chemistry
Pelargonium
Plant Genetics and Genomics
Plant Sciences
Species
Terpene synthase
Terpenes
Yeasts
Pelargonium rosat
Essential oil
Terpenes
Aromatic plant
Geraniol
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Summary:Pelargonium is one of the seven genera belonging to the Geraniaceae family, and includes almost 280 species mainly coming from South Africa. Some of these species have a strong rose scent mostly due to geraniol and citronellol. For a long time, hybrids between P. graveolens or P. radens and P. capitatum , have been used for essential oil (EO) production. Nowadays, EOs of Pelargonium species are produced mainly in China and Egypt. Hybrids are male sterile and propagated through cuttings. Their adaptability to different soils and climates (tropical, semi-tropical, mediterranean, or arid) is remarkable, even if cultivation parameters still have to be improved. Methods for genetic transformation of Pelargonium are available and, due to the growing knowledge of biosynthetic pathways and the cloning of terpene synthase genes in angiosperms, new strategies to improve EO yield or to modify EO composition could be imagined. For example, new crossings driven by biotechnological tools, creation of genetically modified Pelargonium with strong promoters upstream of terpene synthase genes, and batch production of Pelargonium terpenoids through recombinant yeasts or bacteria, are very promising approaches to develop EOs.
ISSN:1568-7767
1572-980X
DOI:10.1007/s11101-015-9441-1