Study Provides Insight on Breeding Tomato with Desired Flavor

A recently concluded study can help tomato breeding companies in selecting varieties to be developed for flavor characteristics. Scientists from Wageningen UR in the Netherlands, through the support of the Dutch Genomics Initiative, Centre for Biosystems Genomics (CBSG), have found that the absence or presence of a specific enzyme causes tomatoes to be described as ‘smoky' or not, by taste experts.

The researchers studied the taste of 94 tomato varieties using expert taste panels. The tomatoes were also evaluated for their metabolite content (such as aroma volatiles), and for their DNA composition. They found out that when a tomato plant is able to produce the identified enzyme, it converts precursors of the ‘smoky' volatiles into others which are odorless and tasteless. As smoky tomatoes cannot produce this enzyme, the precursors of smoky volatiles are not converted. In these tomatoes, smoky volatiles can be released upon biting and chewing, giving rise to a smoky aroma.

For more information, visit http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/news-wageningen-ur/Show/The-unique-taste-of-smoky-tomatoes-is-caused-by-one-missing-enzyme.htm