Rotten tomatoes could soon be a thing of the past, as researchers have unveiled a promising way to make sweeter tomatoes by editing just two of the fruit’s genes.
A study published in Nature shows that deleting these genes can boost glucose and fructose levels by up to 30% compared to mass-produced tomatoes. This breakthrough not only holds promise for tastier fruit but also advances our understanding of how plants produce and store sugar.
The gene-edited tomatoes retain the same size and yield as current commercial varieties, meaning growers won’t have to sacrifice production efficiency for flavour. According to Jinzhe Zhang, a plant geneticist at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and co-author of the study, the typical supermarket tomato often “tastes like water” due to breeding for size over sweetness. This new gene-editing technique could bring back the cherished flavour of home-grown tomatoes without compromising on yield.
Reviving Flavour Without Sacrificing Yield
Tomatoes are one of the world’s most valuable crops, with over 186 million tonnes produced annually. Over time, selective breeding has focused on increasing fruit size to enhance yields, but this has often resulted in a loss of the rich, sweet taste that many consumers crave. By comparing the genomes of cultivated tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) with their sweeter wild relatives, Zhang and his team identified two genes responsible for inhibiting sugar production. Using CRISPR–Cas9 technology, they disabled these genes, allowing the fruit to accumulate significantly higher sugar levels.
The innovation is a significant step forward, according to Christophe Rothan, a fruit biologist at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research in Paris, who was not involved in the study. Rothan believes this research “raises the possibility of using the great genetic diversity existing in wild species, which has been partially lost in domesticated varieties, to improve modern crops.” Such advancements could reshape not only tomato cultivation but also that of other fruits, as similar genes are found across many plant species.
A Boost for Consumers and Industry Alike
The implications of this breakthrough are broad. Beyond providing sweeter fruit for consumers, these gene-edited tomatoes could save time, energy, and costs in food production processes like tomato paste manufacturing, which currently involves extensive water removal. Ann Powell, a retired plant biochemist from the University of California, Davis, suggests that these findings could have applications for a range of produce, potentially boosting sugar content across a variety of crops.
This research highlights an exciting intersection of consumer preference, agricultural efficiency, and cutting-edge genetic technology. With gene-edited tomatoes on the horizon, the classic taste of home-grown tomatoes could soon become available on supermarket shelves—without compromise.
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