UF Scientists See Bright Future As They Seek Savory Strawberries – And High Yield

In a newly published paper, led by Mark Porter, a student in the Plant Breeding Ph.D. program at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, is helping outline the past, present and potential future of breeding flavor into strawberries.

For years, scientists tried to find just the right genes for flavor, but they lacked a genetic map. Researchers found the GPS in 2019, when the first cultivated strawberry genome was published, said Porter.

“Think of it like you want to get to Seattle from Florida without a map or road signs,” he said. “With the construction of the first strawberry genome and the reduced cost of obtaining genetic information from our strawberries, we can now find the location in the genome that’s responsible for production of aroma compounds. That’s akin to scientists who study humans finding the genes that control eye color.”

Porter’s co-authors on the paper are his faculty advisors at GCREC: UF/IFAS horticultural sciences Assistant Professor Seonghee Lee and Professor/UF Innovate inventor Vance Whitaker.

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