Emission of volatile organic compounds from petunia flowers is facilitated by an ABC transporter

Active transport of aromas Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) serve as invisible lines of communication among host plants, pathogens, commensals, community groups, and, with flowers, their pollinators. Studying petunia flowers, Adebesin et al. show that VOCs do not passively diffuse out of the cells but are actively shuttled across the plasma membrane by an ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporter (see the Perspective by Eberl and Gershenzon). Disabling the transporter results in damage to the cell's membranes by intracellular accumulation of VOCs. Science , this issue p. 1386 ; see also p. 1334