In order to clarify volatile accumulation patterns along with their adaptability to temperature
stress, replicas of two different accessions of Salvia lavandulifolia appointed as
chemotypes (A and B) were subjected to increasing temperatures in environmental
controlled cabins. Their respective volatile chemical profiles kept their integrity until
reaching the growing temperature of 24 C. Then, remarkable changes were observed.
Stressed plants of both accessions showed an increase in the sesquiterpenic fraction and a
decrease in the monoterpenic one, although changes in volatile percentages were highly
related to the accession. Accession B overexpressed b-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide
and manool when subjected to the higher temperature tested. On the other hand, accession
A mainly showed a remarkable increase of b-bisabolene and viridiflorol. Furthermore,
viridiflorol and manool have been confirmed as new chemotaxonomic markers for chemotypes
A and B, respectively. The capacity to adjust the production of volatile compounds
seems mostly attributed to the genetic background of the plant although more research is
needed to understand the stress and its implications for the secondary metabolism. These
results contribute remarkably to the chemical phenotyping of this species and may be
useful for selection of genotypes.