Stop and smell the – *GAG*
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Some varieties of wild ginger smell like… wild ginger. Some… smell like death! What gives?
Dr. Yudai Okuyama and team at the University of Tokyo discovered the source of the stank.
In normal smelling ginger flowers, a gene called SBP creates an enzyme which breaks down methanethiol, a cause of bad breath!
But, in nasty-smelling ginger varieties, things have changed. Their SBP gene is duplicated, with a few genetic changes. This new version creates a different enzyme.
The new enzyme combines molecules into the foul-smelling dimethyl-disulfide. This rotting smell helps the plant attract pollinators! A perfume, if you will!
So remember, if it smell-o’s, let it mellow!
Reference: Yudai Okuyama et al., Convergent acquisition of disulfide-forming enzymes in malodorous flowers.Science388,656-661(2025).DOI:10.1126/science.adu8988