The FLAVR SAVR tomato is an important event in science because it was the first genetically engineered crop to be sold commercially. This successful discovery shows how new science can mean so little if it is not accepted by the public. Research conducted in the 1980s suggested that the enzyme polygalacturonase in tomatoes is responsible for softening the fruit by breaking down the cell-wall pectin. The idea was to lessen the affects of the enzyme by creating an “antisense” copy of the gene that will repress the formation of the enzyme. By doing this, the tomato will stay firm longer allowing it to be picked after it ripens on the vine and still sold in time before it softens. Normally, tomatoes are picked off the vine green and treated with an ethylene solution that artificially ripens the fruit. The treatment gives a ripe color but, not a ripe fruit in flavor or nutrition. In 1987 the polygalacturonase (PG) gene was cloned and transferred to produce the PG antisense DNA constructs into tomato plants. One percent or less of the PG enzyme was found in these genetically engineered tomatoes.
In 1994, Calgene, a California company, brought the first genetically engineered crop to market, the Flavr Savr tomato. The company's researchers were able to inhibit a gene that produces a protein that makes a tomato get squishy. This tomato caused an enormous media stir
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