March 26, 2020
Strawberries are a delicious fruit that are grown in every province of Canada. The fruit we know, and love, has changed a lot since it was first cultivated by the French who began taking small sweet wood strawberries from the wild and planting them in their gardens. Over the next few hundred years a number of varieties of strawberries were bred by farmers by selective breeding resulting in the commercial strawberry varieties we are familiar with now.
Researchers from the University of Cordoba have been closely studying strawberries with a view to find the best possible strawberry for commercial sale. During their research the team have been able to identify a gene that plays a key role in strawberry ripening, transcription factor FaPRE1. This gene is like an orchestra conductor responsible for switching key genes on or off as needed as the ripening process begins.
The scientists have been able to determine that FaPRE1 appears only when the strawberry is about to ripen when it begins its complicated role. FaPRE1 silences the genes that controls the size of the fruit (auxins) and activates the ripening genes (ABA) that influence the color, smell and taste of the fruit. The team believe the discovery of this complex transcription factor will allow future strawberries to be grown from plants with genetic characteristics that result in fruit that both look and taste delicious.
Source: Seed World
Read more: http://ow.ly/XZed50yRrjA
