Development and characterization of the menthofuran-rich inter-specific hybrid peppermint variety CIMAP-Patra
2014
Kumar, B. (Birendra) | Shukla, Ashutosh K. | Samad, A.
Menthofuran is an aromatic organic compound that naturally occurs in oil extracted from flower buds of Mentha piperita, making a major contribution to the aroma of the oil. The menthofuran content of Indian peppermint varieties varies from 5 to 12 %, with the exception of cv. CIM-Indus that has a methofuran content of as high as 25 %. The demand for menthofuran in the aroma industry is an estimated 150–200 Mt/year. Given this high industrial demand, an effort has been made to develop and characterize menthofuran-rich genotypes through an inter-specific crossing program involving M. arvensis cv. Kosi ♀ × M. piperita cv. Kukrail ♂. We have successfully developed an inter-specific hybrid by restricting natural outcrossing among selected plants. The newly developed hybrid variety CIMAP-Patra has morpho-physiological characters that are almost identical to those of cv. Kosi, with the exception of plant propagule formation, oil content and oil aroma. It possesses a high menthofuran content (approx. 44 %). Its hybridity was verified using DNA fingerprinting. Real-time PCR-based transcript profiling of key terpenoid pathway genes, i.e., menthofuran synthase, pulegone reductase and menthol dehydrogenase, correlated with the menthofuran-rich phenotype in var. CIMAP-Patra. We suggest that our newly developed hybrid has the potential to change the global scenario for menthofuran production and could possibly be used as an excellent genetic material for providing biomarkers in metabolic engineering efforts aimed at tailoring mint aroma phytomolecules.
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