Post by account_disabled on Feb 28, 2024 3:37:12 GMT -5
Vitamin D deficiency is a growing health problem, but very few foods are rich in this nutrient. To help combat the problem, scientists have now used CRISPR gene editing to fortify tomatoes with vitamin D.
By helping the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D is especially crucial for good bone health and a strengthened immune system. However, it's difficult to get enough through food alone, since most of it is produced in the skin in response to ultraviolet light from the sun.
Unfortunately, many people still don't get enough, with an estimated one billion people worldwide affected by vitamin D deficiency. This appears to increase a person's risk of heart disease, some types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and weaker bones and muscles, among other conditions.
CRISPR Tomatoes
For the new study, researchers at the John Innes Center set out to provide a new source of vitamin D by genetically engineering tomatoes. The fruit is already known to naturally contain a vit C Level Executive List amin D precursor known as -DHC, although at very low levels and only in the leaves, which are generally not eaten.
To change that, the researchers used the CRISPR -Cas gene editing system to disable a specific enzyme in the tomato genome that normally converts -DHC into other molecules. Without that enzyme, -DHC accumulates in the pulp, peel and leaves of the tomato at much higher levels. Importantly, blocking this enzyme did not affect the growth, development or yield of tomato plants.
As in human skin, -DHC could be converted to vitamin D when the tomato is exposed to UVB light. It was later found that one tomato contained as much vitamin D as two eggs or g of tuna, and this could be increased, for example, in sun-dried tomatoes.
In addition to making a tomato fruit more nutritious, the team says the vitamin D-rich leaves could also be used to make supplements, rather than going to waste. Other plants, such as eggplant and potatoes, have the same biochemical pathways, meaning the same type of gene editing could be used to make them more nutritious too.
By helping the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D is especially crucial for good bone health and a strengthened immune system. However, it's difficult to get enough through food alone, since most of it is produced in the skin in response to ultraviolet light from the sun.
Unfortunately, many people still don't get enough, with an estimated one billion people worldwide affected by vitamin D deficiency. This appears to increase a person's risk of heart disease, some types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and weaker bones and muscles, among other conditions.
CRISPR Tomatoes
For the new study, researchers at the John Innes Center set out to provide a new source of vitamin D by genetically engineering tomatoes. The fruit is already known to naturally contain a vit C Level Executive List amin D precursor known as -DHC, although at very low levels and only in the leaves, which are generally not eaten.
To change that, the researchers used the CRISPR -Cas gene editing system to disable a specific enzyme in the tomato genome that normally converts -DHC into other molecules. Without that enzyme, -DHC accumulates in the pulp, peel and leaves of the tomato at much higher levels. Importantly, blocking this enzyme did not affect the growth, development or yield of tomato plants.
As in human skin, -DHC could be converted to vitamin D when the tomato is exposed to UVB light. It was later found that one tomato contained as much vitamin D as two eggs or g of tuna, and this could be increased, for example, in sun-dried tomatoes.
In addition to making a tomato fruit more nutritious, the team says the vitamin D-rich leaves could also be used to make supplements, rather than going to waste. Other plants, such as eggplant and potatoes, have the same biochemical pathways, meaning the same type of gene editing could be used to make them more nutritious too.