Since the dawn of agriculture around 10,000 years ago, our ancestors have saved seeds from the tastiest, largest, and most resilient crops to plant in the following season. Today, most fruits and vegetables we buy are the result of hundreds to thousands of years of selective breeding.
Now, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) plant biologists may have found a "shortcut" to this tedious breeding process using the gene-editing tool CRISPR on a tiny tomato relative called goldenberry. This method could make the fruit easier to grow, opening it up for large-scale farming in the U.S. and abroad. The CRISPR-edited crops could be key to quickly breeding plants that are resistant to new diseases, pests, or drought.
"By using CRISPR, you open up paths to new and more resilient food options," said Blaine Fitzgerald, the greenhouse technician in CSHL's Zachary Lippman lab. "In an era of climate change and increasing population size, bringing innovation to agricultural production is going to be a huge path forward."
The Lippman lab studies plants in the nightshade family, which includes major crops such as tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes, and lesser-known species like goldenberries. Primarily grown in South America, goldenberries are gaining popularity due to their nutritional value and unique mix of sweet and tart flavors. You might've seen them in your local supermarket. Yet, goldenberry growers still rely on bushy crops that are "not really domesticated," said Miguel Santo Domingo Martinez , the Lippman lab postdoc who led this study.
"These massive, sprawling plants in an agricultural setting are cumbersome for harvest," Fitzgerald explained.
Previously, the Lippman lab used CRISPR to target genes in tomatoes and another lesser-known relative called groundcherry to make the plants more compact for urban farming . Building off this work, the team edited similar genes in goldenberries. The resulting crops grew 35% shorter, making planting in denser areas possible and maintenance easier. Next, Lippman's lab searched for goldenberries with the tastiest fruits. This involved eating "hundreds of them, walking a field, and trying fruit off every plant in the row," Fitzgerald said with a laugh.
After breeding several generations of the most delicious and compact goldenberry crops, the team had two distinct lines ripe for production. While these plants produced slightly smaller fruits, the next steps will involve using CRISPR to emphasize other desirable traits.
"We can try to target fruit size or disease resistance," Santo Domingo said. "We can use these modern tools to domesticate undomesticated crops." The team now hopes to seek additional regulatory approval for growers to get seeds and start producing the newly developed varieties.
