Differential expression and novel activity of FaCCR1 regulate medium-chain ester content and strawberry fruit aroma

FaCCR1(6A) was identified as an underlying gene at a 40% QTL on chromosome 6A that regulates medium-chain ester content and strawberry fruit aroma.

• Why it matters: Strawberry aroma depends on a small set of key VOCs, especially esters, yet the genetic basis controlling medium-chain ester abundance has been unclear.
• What they did: The authors mapped a stable QTL (~19 Mb on chromosome 6A) using a biparental population and GWAS, then combined bulk transcriptomics with in vivo and in silico functional tests to pinpoint FaCCR1(6A) and FaOCT4(6A). They localized FaCCR1(6A) to the cytosol and FaOCT4(6A) to the tonoplast membrane, and used transient fruit overexpression plus in vitro assays and docking to test activity.
• The result: Overexpressing FaCCR1(6A) and FaOCT4(6A) in strawberry fruits significantly increased medium-chain ester content, and FaCCR1(6A) showed high-affinity activity toward MCE precursors, enabling a predictive KASP assay in FaOCT4(6A) for selecting superior cultivars.

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