Transient Expression Assay in Strawberry Fruits

Strawberry, including the woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca (2x) and the cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, 8x), has emerged as a model system for studying fruit development and ripening. Transient expression provides a quick assay for gene functions or gene interactions. In strawberry, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation in fruit have been widely used as the transient expression approaches. Unlike VIGS, the latter one can be utilized not only for gene knock-down, but also for overexpression and knock-out. Here, we show the procedures of transiently expressing the 35S::FveMYB10 construct into fruit of the white-fruited F. vesca accession Yellow Wonder. As a master regulator of anthocyanin production, overexpressing FveMYB10 will cause fruit coloration, which was observed at one week post infiltration. We also exhibit the previous results of knocking down Reduced Anthocyanin in Petioles (RAP), encoding an anthocyanin transporter, by RNAi in fruit of the strawberry cultivar 'Sweet Charlie'. Overall, Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation in strawberry fruit is a quick and versatile approach for studying gene functions in fruit ripening.