Bio-technology:Tastier GM tomatoes?
More people prefer the flavour of a new type of GM tomato to that of unmodified tomatoes.
Efraim Lewinsohn and colleagues expressed a variant of a lemon basil gene in ripening tomatoes. The genetically modified fruits generated sufficiently different levels of rose- and lemon-scented aromas that 78 out of 82 people could distinguish them from conventional tomatoes. The change in smell achieved in the GM tomato, which is more impressive than previous efforts to modify plant taste and aroma, results from production of fragrances not produced by conventional tomatoes and may be influenced by altered levels of volatile compounds normally generated by tomatoes.The GM tomatoes were rated tastier by 49 of the 82 people surveyed; 29 preferred unmodified tomatoes and 4 did not express any preference.
One potential drawback is the GM tomatoes contain around half as much lycopene as traditional tomatoes, so didn’t look as red. Lycopene is a beneficial antioxidant that has been proposed to counteract heart disease and cancer. Although some evaluators considered the GM tomato samples to be sweeter, sugar levels were not affected by the genetic modification.
The same approach might enable modification of the aromas of a range of fruits and flowers.
Author contact:
Efraim Lewinsohn (Newe Yaar Research Center, Ramat Yishay, Israel)
Tel: +972 4 953 9552; E-mail: twefraim@agri.gov.il