Chinese Scientists Reveal New Ways To Make Tomatoes Sweeter

Illustration of the harvest of sweet tomatoes (Freepic)

JAKARTA - Tomatoes that usually have a fresh sour taste, now scientists from China are trying out certain methods to make them taste sweeter.

Through a study conducted by researchers from the Chinese Agricultural Sciences Academy (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), they used a new method to release sugar brakes, or genetically regulate sugar levels to increase sweet tastes in tomatoes.

The scientists conducted flavor tests on more than 100 varieties of tomatoes and identified 33 flavor compounds affecting consumer preferences.

Then, they analyzed the content of this flavor compound in more than 400 tomato samples from around the world and performed genome sequencing. This analysis resulted in the discovery of 49 genes affecting taste, including two genes that regulate sugar levels.

By removing these two genes, glucose levels in tomatoes have increased by 30 percent. This modification can also have the same effect on glucose and fructose levels on mass-produced tomatoes.

As a result, suppliers can sell sweeter tomatoes without worrying about losing fruit weight or harvest, according to a study published in the journal Nature this week.

The results of this study increase the possibility of "using significant genetic diversity in wild species, which have partially disappeared in cultivation varieties, to improve the quality of modern varieties," Christophe Rothan said, a fruit biologist at the French National Agricultural Research Institute (French National Institute of Agricultural Research), as quoted by Antara.

The research also marks important progress in "understanding how fruits produce and store sugar," according to the article.