Posted on 06/07/2016 11:47:51 AM PDT by Red Badger
The researchers think it is likely that most flowering plants, or angiosperms, contain similar sucrose-susceptible genes, making their “sweetening technology” widely applicable. Credit: Cienpies Design
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Previous research has shown that the sugar sucrose plays a role in controlling key fruit genes involved in sugar metabolism. Efforts to control these genes succeeded in increasing the sugar content in fruit but also resulted in stunted growth.
Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan used a bioinformatics search tool to find nucleotide sequences in the tomato genome similar to a known tobacco gene sequence that can be repressed by sucrose. When a special coding sequence on the tobacco gene, called a uORF, is removed and the main sequence is made to overexpress, the gene activates several other genes involved in sugar metabolism, ultimately increasing sucrose levels in tobacco leaves. When the uORF is not removed, an overexpressing gene will increase sucrose content in the tobacco leaves but only up to a point. The increased sucrose represses the uORF, which in turn represses the main part of the gene, limiting its ability to further increase the fruit's sucrose content.
Two genes with very similar sequences to the tobacco gene were identified in the tomato plant by the researchers' bioinformatics search and their uORFs were removed. The main gene sequence was placed under the control of another gene, called E8, to express the target gene. The modified DNA was then inserted into tomato plants. The resulting tomato lines were found to have 50% more sucrose than normal tomatoes and showed no growth retardation. In addition to sugar metabolism, the tomato gene also affects genes involved in amino acid metabolism. The researchers found that levels of several amino acids were higher in the transgenic tomatoes.
Based on their results, the team is now developing a new modified DNA sequence containing 2A11, which functions during more of the fruit's development than E8, they say.
The researchers think it is likely that most flowering plants, or angiosperms, contain similar sucrose-susceptible genes, making their "sweetening technology" widely applicable.
Genetically modified tomatoes......What could possibly go wrong?...........................
Gardening ping!.....................SWEETER TOMATOES!...........................
Make them sweeter so I can use more salt on them...YUM!
Last year I made pasta sauce out of our Stupice tomatos, and boy howdy were these sweet tomatos. The sauce tasted like it had sugar added. Was not the best because of this. Maybe it would be better for ketchup?
Nope. No Frankenmaters.
Don’t most pasta sauces have sugar anyways?......................
Best sauce is made using San Marzano plum tomatoes
two things I really enjoy - fresh tomato sauce (garlic basil salt olive oil & romano with gnocchi) and heirloom tomatoes on a BLT (with salt) and real mayo...man there is nothing better
Love tomatoes. Grew up on home grown picked perfect ripened on the kitchen window ledge blood red just before they go bad perfect tomotoes.
Now they are white-pink ripened in a dark jarring enviroment on their way to to a restaurant near you.
Fresh or go home.
People have been adding sugar to tomatoes for a lot of years.
I hear ya there, Nifster. I was experimenting. San Marzano's are definitely the way to go!
ethylene gas
Is used to make tomatoes turn red................
http://www.frontlineservices.com.au/Frontline_Services/Fruit_ripening_gas_-_ethylene.html
JOHN DENVER
“Homegrown Tomatoes”
There ain’t nothing in the world that I like better
than bacon and lettuce and homegrown tomatoes.
Up in the morning, out in the garden, get you a ripe one, don’t pick a hard one.
Plant ‘em in the spring, eat ‘em in the summer. All winter without ‘em is a culinary bummer.
I forget all about the sweating and the digging every time I go out and pick me a big one.
Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes, what would life be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can’t buy and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.
You can go out to eat and that’s for sure, but there’s nothing a homegrown tomato won’t cure.
Put ‘em in a salad, put ‘em in a stew, you can make your own, very own tomato juice.
You can eat ‘em with eggs, eat ‘em with gravy, You can eat ‘em with beans, pinto or navy.
Put ‘em on the side, put ‘em in the middle, homegrown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle.
Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes, what would life be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can’t buy and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.
If I was to change this life I lead, you could call me Johnny Tomatoseed.
‘Cause I know what this country needs is homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see.
When I die, don’t bury me in a box in a cold dark cemetery.
Out in the garden would be much better ‘cause I could be pushing up homegrown tomatoes.
Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes, what would life be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can’t buy and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes,
homegrown tomatoes, what would life be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can’t buy and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.
Thin sliced with a light dusting of black pepper. Ambrosia!
I hadn’t heard of the stupid so when I looked it up it sounded like it should have been great. Did they alter it to make it sweet?
Going to put basil out of business. Might be time to crease a basil infused balsamic.
Wonder what ever happened to the tomatoes that was crossed with a hot pepper now that sounds good.
While bacon has it’s place on a BLT, the best sandwich is thick sliced tomatoes warm from the garden on cheap white bread slathered with mayo.
We don’t need any more GMO foods.
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