Posted on 25 March 2008 by tomatocasual.com
SUN Gene Gives Tomato Its Shape
By Michelle Fabio
Ever wonder why cherry tomatoes are small and round while Romas are long and oval-shaped?
Crop scientists at Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) did, and through studies “identified one key candidate gene that was turned on at high levels in the tomato varieties carrying the elongated fruit type, while the gene was turned off in round fruit.”
They named that gene SUN after the “Sun 1642” type of tomato, which looks like a Roma with a pointy end.
