New Findings on the Volatilome of Persea americana Miller
Elizabeth Martinez1, Ana K. Escalera-Ordaz1, Francisco J. Espinosa-García2, Yolanda M. García-Rodríguez2, Rafael Ariza-Flores3, Javier Ponce-Saavedra4, Patricio Apáez-Barrios5, Héctor Guillén-Andrade1,*
1 Facultad de Agrobiología “Presidente Juárez”, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Uruapan, 60170, Michoacán, Mexico
2 Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, 58190, Michoacán, Mexico
3 Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Etla, 68200, Oaxaca, Mexico
4 Facultad de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, 58030, Michoacán, Mexico
5 Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Apatzingán, 60660, Michoacán, Mexico
* Corresponding Author: Héctor Guillén-Andrade. Email: 
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Molecular Insights of Plant Secondary Metabolites: Biosynthesis, Regulation, and Applications)
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.073438
Received 18 September 2025; Accepted 01 December 2025; Published online 11 December 2025
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play an important role in plant survival and adaptation. They contribute to defense against pests and pathogens, tolerance to abiotic stress, and the mediation of essential ecological interactions such as pollination and attraction of dispersal agents. The complex mixture of VOCs produced by an organism, known as volatilome, varies across species, populations, and individuals, making VOCs a major factor in crop diversification and adaptation. In this context, characterizing the volatilome of crop genotypes can provide insight into their ecological associations and potential relationships with agronomic traits. In this study, the volatilome of 15 closely related ‘Hass’-type avocado variant genotypes was analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). These genotypes had been previously characterized by agromorphological attributes such as early bearing, dwarf growth habit, and/or high productivity according to IPGRI descriptors. A total of 65 volatile compounds were identified, 18 of which—four in leaves and 14 in flowers—had not been previously reported in
Persea americana. Chemical profiling allowed classification of the genotypes into eight foliar and floral chemotypes. Most dwarf genotypes, except for F4A7, exhibited distinct chemical profiles compared to the ‘Hass’ cultivar and the other variants. Correlation analyses indicated that certain compounds, including phytol (r = 0.6112) and decane (r = 0.6822), were positively associated with yield. Phytol, 2-[(8z,11z)-heptadeca-8,11-dienyl]furan, tricosane, 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene, and decane also showed moderate associations with fruit quality traits such as size and weight, with r values ranging from 0.6585 to 0.5799. In contrast, palmitic acid, β-caryophyllene, humulene, and α-farnesene exhibited negative correlations with yield, with an average r-value of –0.5960. Furthermore, the results indicated the presence of tissue-specific compounds, with 36 volatiles detected exclusively in the floral tissue of the analyzed genotypes. These findings advance our understanding of the avocado volatilome and suggest that volatilome profiles could be used as an additional selection criterion for identifying high-performing genotypes.
Keywords
Avocado; volatile organic compounds; chemotyping; secondary metabolites; phytochemical variability; ‘Hass’-type genotypes
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