In a research greenhouse in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, the tomatoes looked ordinary, but they carried a surprisingly sweet scent – the aroma of buttered popcorn.
Two genes responsible for suppressing aromatic compounds were simultaneously silenced. Then the tomatoes began to emit the signature scent of premium fragrant rice or fresh buttered popcorn.
Rather than attempting to restore the tomato’s traditional flavour profile, a team of Chinese and Australian researchers turned to fragrant rice for inspiration.
“People like fragrant rice, and its selling price is higher than that of ordinary rice,” wrote Xu Shengchun, deputy director of the Biotechnology Research Institute at Xianghu Laboratory. He is the corresponding author of a paper published online on January 24 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Integrative Agriculture.