Strawberry flavor depends strongly on volatile organic compounds (VOCs), yet some important aroma-associated chemicals are reduced or absent in many modern cultivars. Woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, carries broader genetic and volatile diversity than many cultivated strawberries and therefore offers a valuable reservoir for recovering such traits. Previous studies have mapped several well-known aroma compounds, but the genetic control of many VOCs in F. vesca remains unresolved, and their ecological functions are even less understood. Because of these gaps, deeper investigation is needed into how natural genetic variation controls strawberry volatiles and whether those compounds can jointly support fruit quality and pest-related ecological functions.
Published (DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhag148) online on April 16, 2026, in Horticulture Research , the study involved researchers from the Fruit Development and Quality Biotechnology Group at the Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea La Mayora, Universidad de Málaga–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), together with collaborators from institutions in Spain and Finland. The team used a genetically diverse European collection of F. vesca to connect natural variation in fruit aroma chemistry with specific genomic regions, then experimentally tested one standout candidate, FvJMT2, for its biochemical role and potential ecological relevance.
The researchers first conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using 1.4 million common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and measurements of 99 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from ripe F. vesca fruit collected across two seasons. They detected 312 significant associations involving 76 VOCs, recovering known aroma loci while identifying new candidates for esters, lactones, terpenoids, and methyl ketones. One SNP in FvJMT2 was especially informative: a rare allele introduced a premature stop codon and was associated with much lower methyl benzoate and methyl cinnamate levels. During ripening, FvJMT2 expression rose alongside these volatiles. Transient expression of the full-length allele in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and strawberry fruit increased methyl benzoate, whereas the truncated version did not. Enzyme assays further showed that the FvJMT2 protein, an S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase, had its highest catalytic efficiency toward benzoic acid. In two-choice behavioral assays, only 34% of responding D. suzukii females chose strawberry purée supplemented with methyl benzoate, significantly below the 50% neutral expectation. Comparisons across wild species and cultivars also showed that benzenoid esters were generally richer in wild and older strawberries and depleted in many modern cultivars.
The authors said the findings bring two usually separate breeding goals—fruit quality and ecological function—into the same genetic framework. They said FvJMT2 is especially interesting because naturally occurring alleles strongly influence methyl benzoate production, while the compound itself contributes to aroma and altered D. suzukii behavior. Rather than treating strawberry scent as a purely consumer-facing trait, the study suggests that volatile profiles may also carry information relevant to plant–insect interactions. The authors added that a critical next step is to determine how these effects perform in intact fruit and under realistic field conditions before any pest-protection benefit can be established.
The work provides a practical starting point for aroma-focused strawberry breeding. Functional FvJMT2 alleles and other loci identified by the genome-wide scan could support molecular-marker development and marker-assisted selection aimed at restoring volatile compounds that have declined during modern breeding. Wild Fragaria species and older cultivars may be especially valuable donors because many retain higher levels of methyl benzoate and methyl cinnamate. At the same time, the laboratory repellency result raises the possibility that selecting for certain aroma profiles could provide an added ecological benefit. That possibility remains preliminary: the study tested supplemented strawberry purée, not intact plants in field conditions. Future breeding and field experiments will need to balance flavor, agronomic performance, volatile stability, and real-world pest responses.
###
References
DOI
10.1093/hr/uhag148
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhag148
Funding information
The work was supported principally by the European Research Council (ERC-2014-StG 638134), Junta de Andalucía (P20_00385, UMA20-FEDERJA-115, UMA20-FEDERJA-093, POSTDOC_21_00893, and POSTDOC_20_00278), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and Universities (PID2021-123677OB-I00 and PID2024-155863OB-I00), and the Margarita Salas Program/NextGenerationEU and Universidad de Granada (MS2021_70).
About Horticulture Research
Horticulture Research is an open access journal of Nanjing Agricultural University and ranked number one in the Horticulture category of the Journal Citation Reports ™ from Clarivate, 2023. The journal is committed to publishing original research articles, reviews, perspectives, comments, correspondence articles and letters to the editor related to all major horticultural plants and disciplines, including biotechnology, breeding, cellular and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, inter-species interactions, physiology, and the origination and domestication of crops.