Lewinsohn, E., Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P.O. Box 1021, 30095 Ramat Yishay, Israel
Sitrit, Y., Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Bar, E., Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P.O. Box 1021, 30095 Ramat Yishay, Israel
Azulay, Y., Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P.O. Box 1021, 30095 Ramat Yishay, Israel
Ibdah, M., Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P.O. Box 1021, 30095 Ramat Yishay, Israel
Meir, A., Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P.O. Box 1021, 30095 Ramat Yishay, Israel
Yosef, E., Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel, Tel Hai Academic College, Upper Galilee 12210, Israel
Zamir, D., Department of Field and Vegetable Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
Tadmor, Y., Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P.O. Box 1021, 30095 Ramat Yishay, Israel

Several lines of evidence indicate that important fruit aroma volatiles are derived from the degradation of carotenoid pigments. One such compound, lycopene, the major pigment in the red varieties of tomato and watermelon, gives rise, to a number of aroma volatiles including geranial, a lemon-scented monoterpene aldehyde. Various tomato and watermelon varieties and transgenic and near-isogenic tomato lines that range in color from yellow through orange to pink and red differ markedly in their carotenoid profiles. These variations are accompanied by differences in the compositions of terpenoid volatiles and hence in their taste. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.