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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. APRIL 15. 2021
UGA student investigates why modern tomatoes have lost their flavor
photo/UGA Extension
Qian Feng, a second-year doctoral candidate in the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences, has mapped additional genes responsible for volatile production
in order to offer a more complete picture of the biochemical pathways in tomatoes. She
hopes that other researchers can introduce the desirable genes into current or new varieties
to breed a tastier tomato.
By Austin Clark
for CAES News
Why have tomatoes lost
their flavor? Why do some
dishes call for ketchup when
cooking with tomatoes?
These are a couple of the
questions that Qian Feng, a
second-year University of
Georgia College of Agricul
tural and Environmental Sci
ences doctoral candidate,
seeks to answer through her
research.
Feng, a member of Profes
sor Esther van der Knaap’s
plant biology lab in the UGA
Institute of Plant Breeding,
Genetics and Genomics,
grew up in China, the world’s
top producer of tomatoes.
Many traditional Chinese
dishes include tomatoes as a
main ingredient, but
Feng recognized a con
fusing trend.
“More often than
not, my family had to
add lots of extra
condiments to bring
the right ‘tomato’
flavor out,”
explained.
Dissatisfied with
the bland flavor
profile, Feng began
investigating the evolu
tionary history of the tomato
in order to uncover any traits
that could explain the loss in
taste. She found that through
selective breeding to increase
the size and outer protective
shell — in addition to breed
ing disease resistant varieties
of tomatoes — farmers and
producers created a less in
tense tasting and less nutri
tious tomato.
The key to measuring and
increasing the taste of a
tomato lies in its chemistry,
more specifically the amount
and type of chemicals, or
volatiles, present in the food.
“To link different volatiles
to actual consumer prefer
ence, we cannot rely simply
on the measured value. We
need to have a taste panel so
that the human perception of
flavor can be taken into ac
count,” Feng stated.
Using research from
Denise Tieman and Flarry
Klee at the University of
Florida, who have spent
years collecting volatile data
along with taste panel evalu
ations from over 100 tomato
varieties, Feng was able to
map additional genes respon
sible for volatile production
in order to offer a more com
plete picture of the biochem
ical pathways in tomatoes.
Although further research
in the van der Knaap lab will
not focus on selective breed
ing to increase the amount of
identified volatiles in toma
toes, Feng hopes that her re
sults can be used by other
breeding labs and facilities to
introduce the desirable genes
into current or new tomato
varieties.
This research was funded
by the National Science
Foundation grant 10 S
1564366. For more informa
tion about research in the In
stitute of Plant Breeding,
Genetics and Genomics, visit
plantbreeding.caes.uga.edu.
[Austin Clark is a Georgia
4-Hpublic relations associ
ate.]
Although tomatoes appeal to
shoppers with their color,
roundness, and size, research is
ongoing to find out why they
are not as tasty
as consumers
expect.
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It’s that time of year again!
April is the Great American Cleanup!
Roadside Trash Pickup • Adopt-A-Road • Tire Recycling
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Pickens High FFA plant sale begins April 14
The Pickens High FFA
will be holding their annual
plant sale this week. The sale
will be split in two separate
sales this year. The first sale
will start online this Wednes
day, April 14 at 5 p.m. The
online link will be posted on
the Pickens County FFA
Facebook page or you can go
to the link posted below:
https://pickens-high-ffa-
spring-plant-sale-2021 .ched-
darap.com
All details about the plant
sale, including the variety of
plants that will be sold, can
be found on the site. Please
feel free to reach out to Cas
sidy Byess Samples at Pick
ens High School for
additional information.
Email: cassidybyess@pick-
enscountyschools.org
Phone: 706-253-1800 Ext.
325
Pictured are three students from the PHS horticulture
class (l-r) Faith Godfrey, Bailey Godfrey and Shevi Pack.
for more information
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