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By Josh Hafner, USA TODAY
A rare fruit could wind up in U.S. stores in the near future after scientists splice its DNA to make it heartier and more efficient. It's called the groundcherry, and its success could lead to the change of rare fruits and vegetables.
Found in Central and South America, the groundcherry grows in a husk like a tomatillo but tastes like a pineapple. Occasionally found at farmers markets, it is known as an "orphan crop," a plant too finicky for mass production.
For example, CNN reported, and its plant is unwieldy. But knowing which genes help tomato plants, scientists at New York 's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
They did this using CRISPR, a gene-editing tool used to produce low-fat pigs and reprogram cells for cancer treatments.
By curtailing hormones, the fruit of the plant is more important than the fruit of the plant. They also ramp up the fruit's sections, increasing its size by 24 percent.
The result: a fruit that grows more easily and often. Scientists now want to fiddle with the groundcherry's color and taste in a protein-and-fiber-packed fruit more palatable to consumers, CNN reported.
The team of scientists detailed their process in a study published Monday in Nature Plants.
And with similarly effective gene edits, scientists believe they could improve more or less rare and unheard of fruits and vegetables for the masses.
Zachary Lippman, "This is pretty good proof that with gene editing you can think of about other plants or orphan crops," said a release.
"The more arrows we have in our quest to address agricultural needs in the future, the better off we're going to be."
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