These new insights may allow scientists to genetically engineer plants to produce stronger scents, or even to produce their scents during certain times of the day. Petunia is one flower that releases its scent in the evening, so we should be able to do this. But before we can make flowers more fragrant in the evening, we need to increase the scent overall. A scientific paper explaining the biochemistry and genetics of floral scent production in snapdragon is published in the June issue of the journal Plant Cell . Inc. Dudareva's research also has found that snapdragons have evolved into a close relationship with the bumblebee.
Snapdragons release four times more scent during the day, when the bees are active, than at night.
Snapdragon flowers are tubes made up of five petals. The floral scents are released only on the lobes of the petals, and not in the tube. To reach the nectar, a bee must land on the lower lobe of the flower and insert himself partially into the tube. As he does this, the back of the bee brushes against the upper lobe of the snapdragon flower. When a bee does this, scent molecules are deposited on his back and legs, and he carries the scent back to the hive, attracting more bees to the plant.