A genetically modified tomato the colour of an eggplant could be available on supermarket shelves as early as next year if regulators approved a bid to grow it in Australia. The purple tomato, as it is named, has been genetically modified to include genes from the edible snapdragon flower.
Nathan Pumplin is the chief executive of Norfolk Healthy Produce, a United States-based company marketing the plant. He said the tomato had two snapdragon genes added, allowing it to make a class of antioxidants called anthocyanins, whose nutrients created the purple colour and were also associated with health benefits.
"They're what make blueberries coloured, blackberries, eggplant skins, purple potatoes," Dr Pumplin said.
The plant was developed by Cathie Martin at the John Innes Centre, an independent laboratory in the United Kingdom. She co-founded Norfolk Plant Sciences, a company aimed at transferring the fruits of the research to people's plates.
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