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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsResearchers used CRISPR–Cas9 to disable two tomato genes, SlCDPK27 and SlCDPK26, and reported higher glucose and fructose levels in the edited fruit. The study found no fruit-weight or yield penalty in its experimental lines, but the result is not a guarantee for every tomato variety—and the work does not establish that these tomatoes are available to buy.
Which two genes were edited?
The genes are SlCDPK27 and SlCDPK26. Zhang and colleagues first used a genome-wide association analysis to identify a chromosome 11 region linked to tomato soluble solids content. They then focused on SlCDPK27, also called SlCPK27, and found a 12-base-pair promoter insertion associated with a high-sugar allele.
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The researchers used CRISPR–Cas9 to produce SlCDPK27 knockout lines in two cultivars: Money Maker, a fresh-market tomato, and M82, a processing tomato. They also studied a double mutant in which both SlCDPK27 and SlCDPK26 were knocked out. The double knockout is the two-gene result behind the headline. The 2024 Nature study reports the experiments and results.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchHow much sweeter were the edited tomatoes?
The study reports that glucose and fructose increased by up to 30% in the edited SlCDPK27/SlCDPK26 knockouts. That is a maximum reported change in those sugars, not a promise that every edited fruit—or every person tasting it—would experience a 30% increase in sweetness.
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One specific Money Maker line, MM-CDPK27-CR1, had 16% higher total soluble solids, 35% more glucose, and 30% more fructose than its wild-type comparison. Those figures apply to that line; they should not be treated as the measured result for every double-mutant line.
Soluble solids content is a measure of dissolved substances in fruit juice, not a direct measurement of how sweet a person perceives the fruit to be. The paper notes that sugars—mainly glucose and fructose—make up about 55% to 65% of tomato total soluble solids, citing prior work rather than measuring that proportion anew in this gene-editing experiment.
Why did knocking out the genes increase sugar?
The authors propose that the two proteins normally act as a brake on sugar accumulation during ripening. In their experiments, SlCDPK27 and SlCDPK26 phosphorylated the enzyme sucrose synthase SlSUS3, a modification associated with SlSUS3 degradation. Removing the kinases reduced that degradation in the researchers’ assays, which could leave more SlSUS3 available and help explain the higher sugar levels.
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The study also points out that much of a tomato’s fruit size is determined before ripening. That timing offers a possible explanation for how changing sugar metabolism during ripening could increase sugar without the fruit-weight trade-off often associated with sweeter produce. It is an explanation for these results, not proof that all methods of increasing tomato sweetness avoid size or yield effects.
Did the edited tomatoes keep their size and yield?
The experimental lines reported in the paper showed no fruit-weight or yield penalty. That is an encouraging finding for the studied cultivars and growing conditions, but it does not establish the same outcome across all tomato varieties, climates, seasons, or farming systems.
The study also found fewer or lighter seeds in mutant fruits. Seed germination was normal in the reported tests. These seed changes matter alongside the yield results: unchanged fruit weight and yield do not mean every fruit trait remained unchanged.
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Did people actually find them sweeter?
The researchers conducted two sensory panels, one in Shenzhen in March 2022 and another in Beijing in July 2022, with roughly 100 participants in each test. The authors report that some tested SlCDPK27 and double-mutant samples were judged sweeter than the wild-type line at statistically significant levels.
Those panels provide evidence of perceived sweetness in the tested samples and settings. They do not establish universal consumer preference or predict how every person would rate tomatoes grown under different conditions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are gene-edited sweeter tomatoes available to buy?
The sources describing this work report experimental tomato lines, not a commercial product or seeds offered for sale. They also do not establish market-specific regulatory status. The study’s results therefore do not show that consumers can currently buy these edited tomatoes; availability and rules would depend on future development and the relevant market.
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How does this differ from other gene-edited tomato work?
Other studies have targeted different genes, so their results should not be confused with the SlCDPK27/SlCDPK26 experiment.
- A 2021 study edited SlINVINH1 and SlVPE5 and reported increased soluble sugars and total soluble solids. Read the PeerJ study.
- A 2026 abstract describes editing SlVIF in a breeding parent and reports delayed ripening and sugar changes. It is a separate experiment, not the two-gene knockout result discussed here. See the PubMed abstract record.
For context on the 2024 study, Nature Biotechnology’s research highlight summarizes the work.
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