Why Supermarket Tomatoes Taste Bland

Abstract

The truism that “beauty is only skin deep” certainly applies to the perfectly red but rather bland tomatoes often found on supermarket shelves. Researchers have now found a genetic basis of the fruits’ attractive looks but flawed flavor. The discovery could help breeders select for tastier tomatoes. The flavor failure of supermarket tomatoes is because of a gene called SlGLK2, says James J. Giovannoni, a plant biologist at Cornell University. Giovannoni just published the discovery of SlGLK2 in Science with Ann L. T. Powell of the University of California, Davis, and their colleagues (DOI: 10.1126/science.1222218). In most store tomato varieties, the SlGLK2 gene has a mutation in the form of an extra DNA base, Giovannoni explains. The extra base disrupts the gene’s sequence, causing its protein to be truncated and thus inactive. Unfortunately for tomato consumers, the protein encoded by SlGLK2 is essential for activating the production and distribution of ...