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The article reports that the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in collaboration with the Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes (CNRS, Strasbourg, France) has identified a new strategy to enhance health-promoting vitamin E by about six-fold and double both provitamin A and lycopene contents in tomatoes to boost antioxidant properties. Topics include overexpression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase HMGS and anti-inflammatory activities.

The article discusses efforts by plant geneticists to improve the flavor of tomatoes available for purchase at supermarkets as of August 26, 2013, highlighting the work of horticulturalist Harry J. Klee of the University of Florida's Institute of Plant Innovation. Topics addressed include flavor compounds responsible for the sweetness of tomatoes, and Klee's use of traditional breeding techniques as opposed to genetic engineering.

The article reports on the efforts of H.J. Heinz to create a new type of tomato for its ketchup which will lead to the use of less corn syrup in the manufacture of Heinz ketchup. The tomato which the company is attempting to breed will be 5% to 10% sweeter than the one it uses in its ketchup currently, and will help the company reduce its rising costs linked to high corn prices.

The article presents information on the crucial role played by Israeli researchers of Tomato Genomics Consortium, an international collaboration between the scientists of ten countries, in decoding the genome of tomato.

The tomato, whose genome has just now been decoded, turns out to be one well-endowed vegetable, possessing 31,760 genes. This rich legacy, possibly a reflection of the disaster that killed off the dinosaurs, is some 7,000 more than that of a person, and presents a complex puzzle to scientists who hope to understand its secrets. A consortium of plant geneticists from 14 countries has spent nine years decoding the tomato genome in the hope of breeding better ones. The scientists sequenced the genomes of both Heinz 1706, a variety used to make ketchup, and the tomato's closest wild relative, Solanum pimpinellifolium, which lives in the highlands of Peru, where the tomato's ancestors originated. Their results were published online Wednesday in the journal Nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the request forwarded to British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by Calgene Inc. on June 23, 1995 for selling genetically engineered tomatoes in Britain.