EVOLUTION OF STRAWBERRY ALCOHOL ACYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITY DURING FRUIT-DEVELOPMENT AND STORAGE

Four strawberry (Fragaria ananassa x Duch.) varieties Oso Grande, Chan dler, Tudla, and I-101) were studied in relation to their alcohol acyl transferase (AAT) activity. AAT activity profile during fruit developm ent and ripening was determined for each variety. The highest AAT acti vity value corresponded to Oso Grande, which is also the variety showi ng the earliest maximum peak of AAT activity. The effect of passive mo dified atmosphere (MA) storage on strawberry AAT was also studied. An increase in AAT activity was found in strawberries stored under high C O2 (>30%). This higher level of AAT activity could be attributed to a detoxifying function of AAT that might be activated to eliminate ethan ol generated by fermentation. Data obtained show a good correlation be tween AAT activity and flavor quality in strawberries.