Plants That Smell Like Rotting Flesh?

A recent change in several plants' genetics has caused them to give off a very putrid odor. This new change makes the plants smell of rotting flesh to attract flies and pollinate them. Scientists in Japan duplicated the gene SBP1 and mutated a few Amino Acids in the gene's enzyme. The SBP1 gene makes a specific enzyme to help break down methanethiol, the compound responsible for bad breath in humans. However, the mutated enzymes in the plants combine two methanethiol molecules, making the smell ten times worse. 

The thought of plants smelling like rotting flesh is disgusting, but it's very interesting to see how easily genes can be manipulated. For example, poppy plants have evolved the ability to produce morphine. I'm curious to see what scientists will try to do next in the plant world.