Natural fumigation as a mechanism for volatile transport between flower organs

Fumigation was used by humans for a long time to protect plants from pests. Plants can also defend themselves against herbivore and pathogens by releasing volatile compounds. Generally, accumulation and emission of volatiles occur from the tissue of their biosynthesis. Using biochemical and reverse genetic approaches, we showed that before petunia flower opens, tube produces and releases inside the buds sesquiterpenes, which accumulate in stigma and presumably protect reproductive organs via natural fumigation. In this context, we characterized the microbiome associated with carpels of WT and PhTPS1 RNAi Petunia flowers.