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New genetically-modified purple tomato made with DNA created by scientists 

Anew genetically engineered purple tomato will be the first of its kind available to US gardeners after 20 years of research created a powerful new superfood.

A new seed is available to green fingers, and it is purple on the outside with plum-coloured fruit inside. It was created by Norfolk Plant Sciences (NPS) over 20 years to hack color genes from a snapdragon flower into the fruit. The snap-dragon cross-breeding means the tomato is high in anthocyanin, a substance good for your health. 

Named the Purple Tomato, it is the first genetically modified (GMO) crop available directly to gardeners, after last year, some farmers started growing and selling the fruit.

NPS hoped to change US perception on GMO products. A 2020 Pew Research study showed that most Americans see GMOs as having a more negative impact on their health than non-GMO foods. Only 7% see GMO products as healthier than other foods.

An artist's impression of bacillus bacteria© Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF

Nathan Pumplin, CEO of Norfolk Healthy Produce, a subsidiary of Norfolk Plant Sciences said: "We aim to show with this product and with this company that there's a lot of benefits that can go to consumers through biotechnology, better taste, better nutrition as prime examples."

Cathie Martin, the lead scientist behind the Purple Tomato set out over two decades ago to create a transgenic tomato, using DNA from another unrelated organism.

Martin isolated the gene responsible for the purple colour of the snapdragon flower© Getty Images/iStockphoto

Landing on the edible flower the purple snapdragon, she wanted to develop a tomato with high levels of anthocyanins, the compounds that give blueberries and blackberries, eggplant and purple cabbage their color and mean they are superfoods. Anthocyanins are antioxidants and may have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. 

Pumplin said: "It's normal for tomatoes to make these healthy antioxidants. They typically don't make them very much in the fruit, though. So what Cathie [Martin] did was put the on switch into tomato."

Martin isolated the gene responsible for the purple colour of the snapdragon flower that turned on and off the purple colour and inserted it into the tomato. So, the purple tomato has, per weight, as much anthocyanin as superfoods like a blueberries. Martin found that mice who ate a diet supplemented with purple tomatoes lived 30% longer than those who didn't.

Pumplin said: "It really is a great example of understanding how the natural world functions and building on that to meet our needs." Pumplin explains.

Kathleen Hefferon, a microbiologist at Cornell University said the push for GMO- foods is a trend and they are easier to grow. She said:"There was a real push of trying to achieve food security for a lot of populaces in developing countries and usually that involved making these staple crops that grew better, such as rice and corn and wheat and things like this.

"People have interest in their quality of life, for longevity and things like this. I think there has been just a health trend in that regard and it's going to continue.”