Plant geneticists say they have discovered an answer to a near-universal question: Why are tomatoes usually so tasteless?
lant geneticists say they have discovered an answer to a near-universal question: Why are tomatoes usually so tasteless?
Yes, they are often picked green and shipped long distances. Often they are refrigerated, which destroys their flavor and texture. But now researchers have discovered a genetic reason that diminishes a tomato’s flavor even if the fruit is picked ripe and coddled.
The unexpected culprit is a gene mutation that occurred by chance and that was discovered by tomato breeders. It was deliberately bred into almost all tomatoes because it conferred an advantage: It made them a uniform luscious scarlet when ripe.
Now, in a paper published in the journal Science, researchers report that the very gene that was inactivated by that mutation plays an important role in producing the sugar and aromas that are the essence of a fragrant, flavorful tomato. And these findings provide a road map for plant breeders to make better-tasting, evenly red tomatoes.
The discovery ‘is one piece of the puzzle about why the modern tomato stinks,’ said Harry Klee, a tomato researcher at the University of Florida in Gainesville who was not involved in the research. ‘That mutation has been introduced into almost all modern tomatoes. Now we can say that in trying to make the fruit prettier, they reduced some of the important compounds that are linked to flavor.’
