Scientists breed genetically modified limes with purple flesh

To grow purple limes, Duterte and colleague Jude Grosser isolated genes for seedless red and blood oranges, the newly bred transgenic purple limes.

At present, researchers at the University of Florida in the United States have recently cultivated a purple pulp of lime. They genetically modified the lime to have a pulp similar to the color of grape skin.

This major improvement not only has aesthetic value, studies have found that people eat purple limes, which contain anthocyanins that help prevent many health diseases. Currently, researchers at the University of Florida's Center for Citrus Research and Education have bred a genetically modified Mexican lime that contains proteins that induce anthocyanin biosynthesis. This process is similar to the principle of red wine coloring.

According to Manjul Dutt, a horticultural scientist at the University of Florida, anthocyanins are beneficial bioflavonoids that promote human health. Many pharmacological studies believe that ingesting anthocyanins can prevent many human health problems, such as obesity and diabetes.

To grow purple limes, Duterte and colleague Jude Grosser isolated genes from seedless red and blood oranges, the latest genetically modified purple limes

For citrus oranges, anthocyanins are not completely unique ingredients, and blood oranges contain anthocyanins that help form a maroon flesh. Blood oranges are best grown in the low temperatures of Spain and Italy, but in the warmer climates of Florida, brownish pulp does not form.

To grow purple limes, Duterte and colleague Jude Grosser isolated genes for seedless red and blood oranges, the newly bred transgenic purple limes, which range in color from black to purple, and are currently breeding bleeding oranges for the first time in Florida, as well as some new varieties of grapefruit.

At the same time, the addition of anthocyanins can also change the color of the stems and flowers of limes, and the researchers say that this latest technology helps to cultivate new types of ornamental citrus plants. "Unique fruit, leaf and flower colors are the product of regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis, with fruit colors ranging from lilac to purple-red," Dutt said. ”