By Joe Solovey
As 2024 winds down and we take time to spend with our families, it is a great time to reflect on the past year. This year has been an amazing one in the field of research, with CRISPR technology being used in manners which have truly revolutionized what was previously thought of as being unthinkable in the world of science.
One such advancement comes in the field of food technology. An article published in November by Nature details how tomatoes are being modified with CRISPR gene-editing technology to fit consumer needs. Tomatoes have been historically selected for certain desired factors such as size, coloration, and ripeness, and now agricultural science researchers have worked to achieve a quicker way of providing the public with the ‘perfect tomato.’ Utilizing CRISPR technology allows precise gene editing, without the insertion of DNA that is foreign to the organism, meaning the final product is not genetically modified - it remains non-GMO. Engaging CRISPR to delete just two genes in the tomato’s genome, the researchers were able to produce tomatoes with 30% greater glucose and fructose levels. This comes without making major changes to the size and weight of the tomato, so they look the same as any other tomato - an important development – since normally as tomatoes grow, the glucose and fructose proportions decrease, lowering the taste of the fruits, and making them less desirable. With over 186 million tons of tomatoes produced globally, introducing this new alternative allows for the quest for the perfect tomato to take some important steps. This allows for precise genetic deletions or replacements, without inserting foreign DNA. Therefore, the end product is not a genetically modified organism, or GMO.
In another food sciences development, researchers at Zhejiang University in China have successfully produced soybean mutants that contain a higher content of seed oil. This is a highly desirable trait as soybean oil continues to be utilized in many
common dishes across varying cultures. By improving the seed oil content, less soybeans
require harvesting to reach the same amounts of oil, lowering the farming’s environmental
impact. This was achieved by altering the GmSFAR4 genes, which are involved in lipid metabolism. By producing mutants of these genes, researchers were able to produce 8%
more soybean oil compared to wild types grown within greenhouses, and around 17% when
compared to wild type soybeans grown in fields. This also came without any adverse effects on
the soybeans themselves, as they were just as viable as wild type soybeans.
In the world of medicine, CRISPR-Cas9 has also been modified to reach different tissues.
In last month’s blog post, Sendai virus was discussed as a new mechanism of delivery for
CRISPR instead of the current DNA vector. However, in an article published in December in 3Biotech, many more such modifications were detailed. Differing plasmids, mRNA’s, ribonucleoproteins, and other delivery mechanisms were outlined with their differing
advantages. This article was written in the context of CRIPSR being used as a cancer therapeutic
tool. By having many different mechanisms of delivery, these new therapies can now affect
previously difficult to reach tissues. This is an amazing step in the world of cancer biology as it
outlines a new way of utilizing CRISPR in the fight against one of the leading causes of death in
the world.
With us being on the cusp of 2025, it is truly amazing how many discoveries CRISPR has
been a part of in just this past year. It is truly exciting when thinking about the new discoveries
2025 has in store in the field of CRISPR.
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