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At first, the cherry might look like a purely ornamental plant. A member of the Physalis genus, he wears heart-shaped papery envelopes that look like Chinese lanterns. (The plant, known as the Chinese lantern, is a close cousin.) In each cherry casing is a small edible and tangy fruit, similar in appearance to a cherry tomato, which is sometimes sold on the market. producers.
The fruit could be more common in supermarkets if it was not so difficult to grow in large quantities. The shrubs of the earth cherry spread out carelessly and can drop their fruit early, and the plants have other undesirable traits. Reducing these traits by selective selection would take years.
On Monday, however, a team of researchers reported that by removing some of the plant's DNA using common gene modification techniques, it was producing a larger fruit scar and a more orderly shrub, accelerating considerably the process of domestication. Their work, published in the journal Nature Plants, is part of a scientific initiative called Physalis Improvement Project.
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The fruits of the earth are tied to tomatoes, which have a well-studied genome. Joyce Van Eck, a plant breeder at Cornell University and author of the paper, and her colleagues have already discovered that, thanks to Crispr, a gene modification technique that can cut parts of the genome, they could alter a specific tomato gene and produce plants that have produced flowers faster.
Scientists have wondered if the scar could be modified in the same way to speed up the process of domestication. They examined the genome of the earth cherry to look for known tomato gene analogues and found one: an analogue of a gene called "SELF-PRUNING" or SPtomatoes control the shape of the plant.
Using Crispr, the team removed a small portion of the SP protein from the background cherry genome. The resulting plants, when they grew, settled into more compact shrubs. The team performed similar experiments with genes that influence the number of flowers and the size of the fruit.
"Indeed, when we had these fruits, they were bigger than the parent terrine," said Dr. Van Eck. "Almost 25% more weight in the fruit."
Encouraged by these successes, researchers are trying to determine if they can more accurately control the shape of cherry shrubs. They also want to find a solution to the problem of falling fruits in the bush.
"It can really complicate the harvest," said Dr. Van Eck.
Tomatoes are known to carry a gene that influences the formation of a weak spot on the stem of the fruit. Perhaps the modulation of this gene in the earth cherry will make possible a variety that will maintain a firmer grip on its fruits.
It took about two years to complete the experiments. In the future, changes may take less or more time depending on the amount of work required to adjust a trait.
Still, Mr. Van Eck believes that with conventional breeding techniques, the resolution of such traits can often take at least five years. And that is if breeders of characters to encourage are already present in some plants. If the trait is not readily available, then they must face a much more difficult task in trying to find it, and then begin the selection process.
Because Crispr only involves the removal of DNA, not the addition of new material, the resulting product is not considered a genetically modified organism in the United States or Canada, said Dr. Van Eck.
The researchers suggest that this technique could be useful for improving the circulation of plants that have not grown much. The cherry, with its unusual look and attractive taste, could be a good first candidate.
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