Key points from article :
Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, have used CRISPR gene-editing technology to create tomatoes that offer a new plant-based source of vitamin D.
This breakthrough could help address vitamin D deficiencies, which affect around a billion people globally, particularly in regions with limited sunlight. By making a small edit to the gene Sl7-DR2, the researchers stopped the plant from producing an enzyme that converts provitamin D3, a precursor to vitamin D, into cholesterol. The result is tomatoes that can provide a significant source of vitamin D3, one of the two main forms of the vitamin.
The lead researcher, Jie Li, noted that the edited tomatoes showed no changes in growth, development, or yield compared to non-edited tomatoes. They looked and behaved just like regular tomatoes. According to Cathie Martin, also from the John Innes Centre, achieving the same result using traditional plant breeding methods would have taken around 10 years, whereas CRISPR allowed them to complete the process in just 1.5 years.
These gene-edited tomatoes offer a potential new vegan source of vitamin D, as current vegan options, like lichen-sourced vitamin D3, are more expensive than standard vitamin D supplements, which are typically derived from sheep's wool. However, the tomatoes must overcome technical and economic hurdles before becoming widely available, such as proving their commercial viability and undergoing regulatory approval.
The tomatoes will be tested in outdoor trials starting to see how much vitamin D3 they can produce. The potential use of artificial lighting due to weak UK sunlight might add costs, but the research team is hopeful that the tomatoes will offer an affordable and efficient source of vitamin D in the future.
The study is published in the journal Nature.
