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Breeding potential of Mentha accessions using rapid volatile organic compound-based metabotyping

Moradi, Parviz ; Olbricht, Klaus ; Eberle, Dominic ; Mahmoud, Hafez ; Neye, Oliver ; Ulrich, Detlef ; Kreidl, Jakob ; Tyler, Torbjörn LU ; Maydell, Daniel and Marthe, Frank , et al. (2026) In Industrial Crops and Products 246. p.1-17
Abstract
The genus Mentha is highly valued in pharmaceutical, culinary, and personal care industries due to its rich aromatic and pharmacological traits. However, its complex taxonomy and genetic diversity create challenges for breeding programs focused on aroma and therapeutic qualities. To address these challenges, this study developed
and validated a rapid, semi-quantitative metabotyping method to efficiently profile volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh Mentha leaves for pre-selection screening in breeding and cultivar development. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (HS-SPME-GC-FID), 234 Mentha accessions from seven species and twelve hybrids were analyzed, identifying... (More)
The genus Mentha is highly valued in pharmaceutical, culinary, and personal care industries due to its rich aromatic and pharmacological traits. However, its complex taxonomy and genetic diversity create challenges for breeding programs focused on aroma and therapeutic qualities. To address these challenges, this study developed
and validated a rapid, semi-quantitative metabotyping method to efficiently profile volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh Mentha leaves for pre-selection screening in breeding and cultivar development. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (HS-SPME-GC-FID), 234 Mentha accessions from seven species and twelve hybrids were analyzed, identifying 36 VOCs. Of these, 29 detected across all species with highest quantitative abundance were selected for multivariate analyses (clustering, PCA, correlation). Cluster analysis grouped accessions into eight chemotypic clusters, and PCA explained 70% of variation along menthol-, carvone-, and linalool-type axes. Flow cytometry-based genome size analysis (2 C DNA content) was performed on 104 accessions to investigate polyploidy-related variation. Spearman rank correlation revealed statistically significant associations between genome size and specific oxygenated monoterpenes (particularly menthol: ρ =0.561, P <0.001), suggesting that polyploidy-driven genome size variation influences monoterpene biosynthesis pathways — with direct implications for breeding polyploid cultivars with enhanced essential oil yield and aroma intensity. Some hybrids displayed unique VOC profiles, including
M. × suavis and M. × smithiana. Notably, this is the first VOC profiling report for M. × suavis and M. ×villosonervata, expanding knowledge of less-studied hybrids and providing genetic resources for specialized aromatic applications. Species-level PCA validated that accession-level chemotypic variation fundamentally reflects
species-level metabolic differentiation, confirming the robustness of clustering results. This rapid VOC-based metabotyping approach, complemented by genome size characterization, provides breeders with an efficient pre-selection tool for early-stage germplasm screening, accelerating development of superior cultivars for industrial and therapeutic applications. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
The genus Mentha is highly valued in pharmaceutical, culinary, and personal care industries due to its rich aromatic and pharmacological traits. However, its complex taxonomy and genetic diversity create challenges for breeding programs focused on aroma and therapeutic qualities. To address these challenges, this study developed
and validated a rapid, semi-quantitative metabotyping method to efficiently profile volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh Mentha leaves for pre-selection screening in breeding and cultivar development. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (HS-SPME-GC-FID), 234 Mentha accessions from seven species and twelve hybrids were analyzed, identifying... (More)
The genus Mentha is highly valued in pharmaceutical, culinary, and personal care industries due to its rich aromatic and pharmacological traits. However, its complex taxonomy and genetic diversity create challenges for breeding programs focused on aroma and therapeutic qualities. To address these challenges, this study developed
and validated a rapid, semi-quantitative metabotyping method to efficiently profile volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh Mentha leaves for pre-selection screening in breeding and cultivar development. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (HS-SPME-GC-FID), 234 Mentha accessions from seven species and twelve hybrids were analyzed, identifying 36 VOCs. Of these, 29 detected across all species with highest quantitative abundance were selected for multivariate analyses (clustering, PCA, correlation). Cluster analysis grouped accessions into eight chemotypic clusters, and PCA explained 70% of variation along menthol-, carvone-, and linalool-type axes. Flow cytometry-based genome size analysis (2 C DNA content) was performed on 104 accessions to investigate polyploidy-related variation. Spearman rank correlation revealed statistically significant associations between genome size and specific oxygenated monoterpenes (particularly menthol: ρ =0.561, P <0.001), suggesting that polyploidy-driven genome size variation influences monoterpene biosynthesis pathways — with direct implications for breeding polyploid cultivars with enhanced essential oil yield and aroma intensity. Some hybrids displayed unique VOC profiles, including M. × suavis and M. × smithiana. Notably, this is the first VOC profiling report for M. × suavis and M. ×villosonervata, expanding knowledge of less-studied hybrids and providing genetic resources for specialized aromatic applications. Species-level PCA validated that accession-level chemotypic variation fundamentally reflects species-level metabolic differentiation, confirming the robustness of clustering results. This rapid VOC-based metabotyping approach, complemented by genome size characterization, provides breeders with an efficient pre-selection tool for early-stage germplasm screening, accelerating development of superior cultivars for industrial and therapeutic applications. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Mentha Genome size Volatile organic compounds HS-SPME-GC-FID Metabotyping Plant breeding, Mentha, genome size, volatile organic compounds, HS-SPME-GC-FID, metabotyping, plant breeding
in
Industrial Crops and Products
volume
246
article number
123331
pages
17 pages
publisher
Elsevier
ISSN
0926-6690
DOI
10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.123331
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
483fef18-858c-49a1-9b4d-5db45a9fb94f
date added to LUP
2026-05-05 13:21:10
date last changed
2026-05-12 11:54:39
@article{483fef18-858c-49a1-9b4d-5db45a9fb94f,
  abstract     = {{The genus Mentha is highly valued in pharmaceutical, culinary, and personal care industries due to its rich aromatic and pharmacological traits. However, its complex taxonomy and genetic diversity create challenges for breeding programs focused on aroma and therapeutic qualities. To address these challenges, this study developed<br/>and validated a rapid, semi-quantitative metabotyping method to efficiently profile volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh Mentha leaves for pre-selection screening in breeding and cultivar development. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (HS-SPME-GC-FID), 234 Mentha accessions from seven species and twelve hybrids were analyzed, identifying 36 VOCs. Of these, 29 detected across all species with highest quantitative abundance were selected for multivariate analyses (clustering, PCA, correlation). Cluster analysis grouped accessions into eight chemotypic clusters, and PCA explained 70% of variation along menthol-, carvone-, and linalool-type axes. Flow cytometry-based genome size analysis (2 C DNA content) was performed on 104 accessions to investigate polyploidy-related variation. Spearman rank correlation revealed statistically significant associations between genome size and specific oxygenated monoterpenes (particularly menthol: ρ =0.561, P &lt;0.001), suggesting that polyploidy-driven genome size variation influences monoterpene biosynthesis pathways — with direct implications for breeding polyploid cultivars with enhanced essential oil yield and aroma intensity. Some hybrids displayed unique VOC profiles, including<br/>M. × suavis and M. × smithiana. Notably, this is the first VOC profiling report for M. × suavis and M. ×villosonervata, expanding knowledge of less-studied hybrids and providing genetic resources for specialized aromatic applications. Species-level PCA validated that accession-level chemotypic variation fundamentally reflects<br/>species-level metabolic differentiation, confirming the robustness of clustering results. This rapid VOC-based metabotyping approach, complemented by genome size characterization, provides breeders with an efficient pre-selection tool for early-stage germplasm screening, accelerating development of superior cultivars for industrial and therapeutic applications.}},
  author       = {{Moradi, Parviz and Olbricht, Klaus and Eberle, Dominic and Mahmoud, Hafez and Neye, Oliver and Ulrich, Detlef and Kreidl, Jakob and Tyler, Torbjörn and Maydell, Daniel and Marthe, Frank and Reichardt, Sven}},
  issn         = {{0926-6690}},
  keywords     = {{Mentha Genome size Volatile organic compounds HS-SPME-GC-FID Metabotyping Plant breeding; Mentha; genome size; volatile organic compounds; HS-SPME-GC-FID; metabotyping; plant breeding}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--17}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Industrial Crops and Products}},
  title        = {{Breeding potential of Mentha accessions using rapid volatile organic compound-based metabotyping}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.123331}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.123331}},
  volume       = {{246}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}