Heaven scent: Finding may help restore fragrance to roses
Jul 2, 2015, 1:00 PM
FILE - This Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 file photo shows roses during preparations for the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. A study of roses that have a strong scent revealed a previously unknown chemical process in their petals that is key to their fragrance. Experts said the finding might let scientists restore a pleasing scent to rose varieties that have lost it because of breeding for traits like color or longevity. Results are reported in a study released Thursday, July 2, 2015 by the journal Science. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
NEW YORK (AP) — Shakespeare said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. In fact, many kinds of roses today have little fragrance. But a new discovery might change that.
A study of roses that do have a strong scent revealed a previously unknown chemical process in their petals. It’s key to their alluring odor.
Experts said the finding might let scientists restore a pleasing scent to rose varieties that have lost it because of breeding for traits like color or longevity.
French scientists identified a gene that’s far more active in a heavily scented kind of rose than in a type with little odor. This gene, which produces an enzyme, revealed the odor-producing process.
Results are reported in a study released Thursday by the journal Science.
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