London: Never again will you have to worry
about your tomatoes getting squashy -- the juicy fruit can now
stay fresh for an extra month, thanks to a genetic breakthrough
led by an Indian-origin researcher.
Dr Asis Datta and his team have identified the
chemicals which make tomatoes go soft and by suppressing two
enzymes, known as A-Man and B-Hex which accumulate at critical
stages during ripening, they extended shelf-life by a month.
In fact, the scientists used genetic engineering
to "silence" the enzymes in tomatoes and showed those lacking
A-Man were about two-and-a-half times firmer than conventional
counterparts. Ones without B-Hex were twice as hard.
Both types of transgenic tomatoes retained their
texture and firmness for 45 days compared with conventional
ones which started shrinking and softening after fifteen days,
the findings revealed.
Dr Datta of the National Institute of Plant Genome
Research told British newspaper the 'Daily Mail': "Overall the
results demonstrate a substantial improvement in fruit shelf-
life. Manipulating enzymes that alter the speed and duration
of ripening may help enhance the shelf-life of tomatoes and,
potentially, other fruit.
"Our strategy allows achievement of desired texture
/firmness and enhancement of fruit shelf-life by judicious
manipulation without any ill effects.
"The high levels of A-Man and B-Hex activities in the
fruits such as papaya, banana, and mango also suggest their
potential involvement in the softening of other fruits. In
conclusion the engineering of plants provides a strategy for
crop improvement that can be extended to other fruit crops."
The findings have been published in the 'Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences'.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, February 02, 2010, 18:12