Tastier tomatoes could be on the menu if breeders reintroduce lost gene variants involved in the production of flavour compounds.

Harry Klee at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Sanwen Huang at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Shenzhen and their team analysed the chemical composition and genetics of 398 tomato cultivars comprising old, modern and wild varieties. The modern ones produced fewer volatile chemicals that correlate with pleasant flavour. The researchers identified the gene variants needed to make these chemicals and found that many have been lost as breeders have selected for other traits, such as fruit size.

The findings could help breeders to improve the flavour of tomatoes with minimal reductions in yields, the authors say.

Science 355, 391–394 (2017)