“Scientists in China have used gene editing technology to create a new tomato variety that smells like buttered popcorn,” reports News of the Weird. “The project was conceived to address the problem of tomatoes losing some aroma and flavor during transport and storage. Peng Zheng, an author of the study, compared the alteration to creating varieties of fragrant rice.”
The Independent explains:
the fragrance of tomatoes significantly enhances the sensory appeal of food, influencing their consumption and market price.
However, tomatoes start losing their aroma due to metabolic changes which begin right after the fruit is removed from the vine, leading them to further lose their flavour during transportation and storage.
Now, scientists have generated the world’s first “extraordinary aromatic tomato plants” by simultaneously altering two key genes in tomato varieties using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology.
Researchers disrupted a gene called betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (BADH2) in a variety of tomatoes. They found that blocking the gene led to an accumulation of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP), the organic compound responsible for the delightful “popcorn-like” aroma.
Earlier, genetic engineering created a tomato that is sweet and large yet doesn’t rot quickly, the way sweet tomatoes otherwise would. “Rotten tomatoes no more: growing sweeter tomatoes is possible by editing just two of the fruit’s genes. Deleting the genes increased the engineered fruits’ glucose and fructose levels by up to 30%,” reported Nature.
Another mutant tomato could save harvests around the world: “Researchers have discovered that a mutated tomato breed, known to botanists for decades, is highly resilient against a notorious plant disease. Breeding this trait into other types of crop could one day help to improve global food security,” notes Freethink.
A genetically-modified chicken lays eggs that people allergic to eggs can eat. Scientists have genetically engineered a cow that produces human insulin in its milk.
Genetic engineering recently produced pork that people who are allergic to pork can eat.
