The aim of the present study was to investigate the differences in volatile profiles among different Korean chrysanthemum cultivars grown as cut flowers. To optimize a method for sampling and comparing scents, the scents were evaluated by electronic nose (E-nose) at different flowering stages and in different organs and cultivars. The values of maximum resistance changes of metal oxide semiconductor sensors and relative aroma intensity were highest at flowering stage III (full flower stage of ray florets and initial opening disc florets) among different stages and in disc florets among different floral organs of cut chrysanthemums. Among the 12 chrysanthemum cultivars, the highest values for response change and relative aroma intensity were observed in the flowers of the ‘Ilweol’ cultivar. To compare scent patterns among the cultivars, E-nose sensor data was subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. Principal component analysis and discriminant function analysis of the volatile metabolic profile data indicated that chrysanthemum samples were clearly discriminated in a cultivar-dependent manner. These results show that different cultivars are characterized by distinct volatile profiles. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that the 12 chrysanthemum cultivars were separated into 3 main groups according to the relationship of volatile profiles; however, chrysanthemum cultivars were not clustered according to the flower shape. We propose that these results could be used as the basis on which to improve the breeding of cut chrysanthemums based on volatile characteristics.

Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
    Plant materials
    Sample preparation and extraction of volatiles
    E-nose analysis
    Data analysis
Results and Discussion
    Comparison of floral scents pattern amongdifferent flowering stages
    Comparison of floral scents pattern amongdifferent floral organs
    Discrimination of the floral scents among thecut chrysanthemum cultivars
Acknowledgements
References

• Myung Suk Ahn(Floriculture Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration) Authors contributed equally to this work.
• Jae A Jung(Floriculture Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration) Authors contributed equally to this work.
• Tae-Woo Yoon(Floriculture Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration)
• Manjulatha Mekapogu(Floriculture Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration)
• Hyun-Young Song(Floriculture Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration)
• Oh Keun Kwon(Floriculture Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration) Corresponding author