A Johns Hopkins website called the Hub shared a new study that discovered genes in tomatoes that are responsible for how large the plant grows. The gene was found as part of a project to map the genomes of 22 organisms in the nightshade genus. Using techniques and tools such as CRISPR-Cas9, one copy of the gene CLV3 can be edited and result in much larger fruit. This growth of the tomato fruit is different from the cause of other fruits growing larger. For example, the Genetic Literacy Project explains that current strawberries are much larger than strawberries from the past because they are polyploid. However, the new research into tomatoes and eggplants reviews gene editing that can be passed from parent to offspring. The researchers are exploring real-world applications of their findings including shipping a single edited fruit to places like Africa to create new agricultural markets. The article mentions that the gene was discovered by studying multiple species together. Decades worth of research on tomatoes was easily transferred to eggplant genetics and one of the genes that leads to larger fruit was discovered in eggplants. The researchers urge “pan-genetics” to be more common as it could have endless possibilities for food around the world.
I find it interesting that more researchers do not use pan-genetics as it seems to have promising results at least in the case of crop yield. I think that editing the tomato genes to produce larger fruit could have major beneficial effects if it is allowed. However, with so many regulations on gene editing in food sources, I wonder whether it is possible to send edited parent crops to other countries. Even though the results look promising, the tomatoes would be genetically modified and some individuals may be hesitant to eat them if other options are considered not genetically modified.
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