Scientists to try breeding spicy tomatoes

Scientists plan to genetically engineer a combined chilli tomato, although their main goal is not culinary.

A contestant in a chilli-pepper eating competition in Ningxiang in China last year. Scientists may produce a more delicious variety using tomatoes, as a by-product of research. Picture: AFP

The chilli pepper — the more pungent form of capsicum — and tomato could soon be united as one species if scientists have their way with the nutritious fruits.

Researchers proposing this genetic engineering say their objective is not to start a new culinary fad - although that’s not off the table.

Their primary aim is to create an easier means of mass-producing large quantities of capsaicinoids for commercial purposes.

The capsaicinoids found abundantly in capsicums have nutritional and antibiotic properties and are used in painkillers — and pepper spray.

“Their multiple health benefits make capsaicinoids a valuable nutraceutical product, which is likely to increase in demand in the coming years,” scientists write in an opinion article in the journal Trends in Plant Science.

The chilli and the tomato share some of the same DNA because they are long-lost cousins, from an evolutionary perspective, splitting off from a common ancestor about 19 million years ago.

The sequencing of the chilli-pepper genome and the discovery that the tomato has the genes necessary for pungency paves the way for engineering the spicy tomato.

With the latest gene-editing techniques, it could be possible, although challenging, to turn on the spice within the tomato, says senior author Agustin Zsogon, a plant biologist at the Federal University of Vicosa in Brazil.

These researchers also say it may lead to the development of new varieties of produce in the supermarket.

Chilli plants for the picking.

Tomatoes for the choosing, in Tasmania. Picture: Penny Woodward

Mentioning specifics, the researchers say: “Five capsicum species have been domesticated. However, even in fruits of the same species, pungency is not consistent owing to the strong influence of the environment on capsaicinoid levels.

“We propose that the use of state-of-the-art genome engineering techniques to activate capsaicinoid biosynthesis in tomato is a suitable option to exploit these valuable secondary compounds.’’

AAP