Abstract
Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are composed of C6-aldehydes and alcohols. They are formed rapidly after disruption of plant tissues. GLVs are formed from polyunsaturated fatty acids through oxygenation by lipoxygenase (LOX) and subsequent cleavage by fatty acid hydroperoxide lyase (HPL). It has been believed that GLVs are formed from free fatty acids, because LOX prefers free fatty acids and because lipids are degraded rapidly after tissue disruption. In this study, we analyzed compositions of lipids and their hydroperoxides after disruption of leaves of Arabidopsis that has no HPL activity. Unexpectedly, hydroperoxides of free fatty acids could be hardly detected, while, those of the esterified form could be detected. This result might indicate that lipid hydrolysis was nonessential to the formation of GLVs.
