Chinese scientists engineer gene-edited tomato with popcorn aroma

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. It was not the result of accidental crossbreeding but a precise surgical edit in the tomato genome, performed by the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. 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...

By Shi Huang