New Gene-Edited Tomatoes Boost Vitamin D Levels
12th June 2022
Using CRISPR-Cas9, they switched off an enzyme in tomatoes that ordinarily prevents the molecular forerunner of vitamin D3 (called 7-dehydrocholesterol, or 7-DHC) from accumulating in the plant.
The result is a tomato plant that, when exposed to ultraviolet light (like from the Sun), creates massive amounts of the prized vitamin in its leaves and, more usefully for us, also a fair amount in the fruit.
Cue meltdown by Eco-Nazis.