CRISPR Gene Editing Boosts Tomato Yields in Winter

Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem identified a molecular fix that allows tomato plants to reliably produce fruit amidst cold temperatures. Using CRISPR gene editing to modify a hormonal control pathway involving microRNA miR167 and auxin response factor genes (ARF8), the scientists successfully triggered fruit growth without fertilization, a phenomenon called parthenocarpy.

For warm-season crops like tomato, low temperatures frequently prevent anthers from opening and releasing pollen. Without fertilization, the unpollinated flowers are shed before any fruit can form. By using targeted CRISPR gene editing on the SlMIR167a and SlARF8B genes, this reproductive bottleneck was bypassed. Ovary growth was triggered independently of pollination, allowing seedless tomatoes to develop even when cold weather halted natural fertilization.

In unheated winter greenhouse trials, gene-edited tomatoes produced six times as many ripe fruits and a tenfold increase in total ripe fruit mass compared to wild-type controls. Although commercial release has not yet been pursued and regulatory approvals have not been requested at this experimental stage, the targeted pathway is viewed as a promising mechanism for breeding cold-resilient crops.

For more information, you may read the full study from the New Phytologist.