Evaluation of floral volatile patterns in the genus Narcissus using gas chromatography–coupled ion mobility spectrometry

Abstract

Premise: Daffodils (Narcissus, Amaryllidaceae) are iconic ornamentals with a complex floral biology and many fragrant species; however, little is known about floral plant volatile organic compounds (pVOCs) across the genus and additional sampling is desirable. The present study investigates whether the floral scent of 20 species of Narcissus can be characterized using gas chromatography–coupled ion mobility spectrometry (GC–IMS), with the aim of building a comparative pVOC data set for ecological and evolutionary studies. Methods: We used a commercial GC–IMS equipped with an integrated in-line enrichment system for a fast, sensitive, and automated pVOC analysis. This facilitates qualitative and (semi)-quantitative measurements without sample preparation. Results: The GC–IMS provided detailed data on floral pVOCs in Narcissus with very short sampling times and without floral enclosure. A wide range of compounds was recorded and partially identified. The retrieved pVOC patterns showed a good agreement with published data, and five “chemotypes” were characterized as characteristic combinations of floral volatiles. Discussion: The GC–IMS setup can be applied to rapidly generate large amounts of pVOC data with high sensitivity and selectivity. The preliminary data on Narcissus obtained here indicate both considerable pVOC variability and a good correspondence of the pVOC patterns with infrageneric classification, supporting the hypothesis that floral scent could represent a considerable phylogenetic signal.