GM Geranium with Improved Oil Quality

Oils extracted from rose-scented geranium species have many uses in the perfumery, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries. Because of the importance of essential oils from geraniums, researchers are seeking ways to increase oil yield and quality in the species.

Indian researchers report that one method that can help improve geranium oil quality is the hairy root transformation method. The group of Gauri Saxena produced transgenic geraniums from the cultivar ‘Hemanti’ using Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated re-insertion. Hairy root cultures from Hemanti were produced by wounding explants with sterile needles dipped in bacterial suspension. The wounded explants were subsequently grown in a tissue culture medium.

The researchers reported that two of their transgenic lines differ in oil composition profiles from the non-transformed control. The transgenics have oils that have low concentration of citronellol and high concentration of geraniol. In addition, there are higher levels of compounds called geranyl esters which improve olfactory value.

For more information, the paper published in Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture can be accessed by subscribers at http://www.springerlink.com/content/b5j878x1g30v8233/.