Gene could increase tomato shelf life

Researchers at Purdue Univ. have discovered that adding a yeast gene to tomatoes increase production of a compound that slows aging and delays microbial decay in tomatoes. The results of the research have been published in “The Plant Journal”. Horticulture professor Avtar Handa said the results would likely transfer to other fruit.

“We can inhibit the aging of plants and extend the shelf life of fruits by an additional week for tomatoes,” Handa said.

Fully ripe tomatoes from plants which received the gene lasted about 8 days longer before showing signs of shriveling compared with non-transgenic plants. Decay and rot symptoms associated with fungi were delayed by about 3 days.

“We can add this gene to the tomatoes or look at natural variation and select the cultivars that already have a high level of this gene's expression,” Handa said.