Genetically engineered vegetables
The present disclosure relates at least in part to genetic engineering of vegetable (e.g., tomato) plants to, for example, produce heme, a molecule contributing to a meat-like flavor, and to the incorporation of male sterility in these plants to facilitate the production of F1 hybrid seeds. Described herein, in some embodiments, are methods for constructing and introducing into such plants genetic constructs containing both a heme gene and a male sterility gene, the resulting plants, and the use of these plants in hybrid seed production. The present disclosure also provides at least in part methods for enhancing lycopene content in plants, such as tomato plants, either through genetic modification or selective breeding. While introducing key genes like Psy is effective, adding multiple genes or knocking out competing pathways can lead to more substantial increases in lycopene levels. Enhanced lycopene content can provide added health benefits, including potential cancer protection, making these plants, such as tomatoes, particularly valuable in the context of functional foods. The plants may be of varieties with high lycopene content combined with genetic modifications as provided herein. The present disclosure offers a comprehensive solution for producing plants (e.g., tomatoes) with increased nutritional value.
1 . A genetic construct or set of genetic constructs comprising a first promoter operably linked to a first coding sequence and a second promoter operably linked to a second coding sequence, wherein the first coding sequence encodes a heme-producing gene, and wherein the second coding sequence encodes a male-sterility gene, wherein the genetic construct or set of genetic constructs comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.
2 . A plant cell, comprising the genetic construct or set of genetic constructs of claim 1 .
3 . The plant cell of claim 2 , wherein the plant cell is a tomato plant cell or an eggplant plant cell.
4 . A method, the method comprising transforming a plant cell with the genetic construct or set of genetic constructs of claim 1 .
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein transforming is via Agrobacterium -mediated transformation.
6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the plant cell is a tomato plant cell or an eggplant plant cell.
7 . A method of producing a genetically engineered plant, the method comprising introducing into a plant the genetic construct or set of genetic constructs of claim 1 .
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the introducing is via Agrobacterium -mediated transformation.
9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the genetically engineered plant is a tomato plant or an eggplant plant.
10 . A method of producing an F1 hybrid tomato plant, the method comprising:
(i) crossing the genetically engineered plant of claim 7 with a male-fertile tomato plant to produce a crossed plant;
(ii) harvesting seeds from the crossed plant; and
(iii) growing the F1 hybrid tomato plant from the seeds.