日本新近研發出一種基因編輯西紅柿，外觀和普通西紅柿沒有區別，但富含一種特殊的氨基酸，據說可以讓人放松，還有助于降低血壓。目前這款西紅柿已獲準上市銷售，售價為三公斤7500日元。

Sicilian Rouge High GABA is a special type of tomato designed to contain high levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid believed to aid relaxation and help lower blood pressure.

“高伽馬氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”是一種特殊的西紅柿，它含有大量的伽馬氨基丁酸，據稱，這種氨基酸可以讓人放松，并有助于降低血壓。

Tokyo-based startup Sanatech Seed Co. teamed up with scientists at the University of Tsukuba to develop a new variety of tomatoes using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. Named Sicilian Rouge High GABA, this new type of tomato contains five to six times the normal level of a type of amino acid called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. According to Japanese media, the company removed an inhibitory domain within the tomato’s genome to enable it to produce these high levels of GABA.

總部在東京的初創企業Sanatech Seed和筑波大學的科學家用CRISPR/Cas9基因編輯技術聯合研發出了這種名為“高伽馬氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”的新型西紅柿。這種新型西紅柿所含的伽馬氨基丁酸水平是普通西紅柿的五到六倍。據日媒報道，該公司移除了西紅柿基因組里的一個抑制域，從而使其能夠生成大量的高伽馬氨基丁酸。

According to Shimpei Takeshita, President of Sanatech Seed and Chief Innovation Officer of Pioneer EcoScience, the exclusive distributor of the tomato, the company was given permission to commercialize the genetically altered Sicilian Rouge High GABA variety last December, and contract farmers have been growing them ever since. Now, the tomatoes are ready to hit store shelves.

Sanatech Seed的總裁兼Pioneer EcoScience的首席創新官竹下慎平稱，公司于去年12月獲準將基因編輯西紅柿“高伽馬氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”商業化，自那以后承包的農戶就開始種植這款西紅柿。現在，這款西紅柿即將上市銷售。Pioneer EcoScience是這款西紅柿的獨家經銷商。

"At first we got mixed reactions to genome-edited foods, and we thought it would be difficult to bring them to market as they’re not fully understood by consumers,” Tatsuo Takeshita, chair of Sanatech Seed told NHK. “But the tomatoes earned a good reputation from those who took part in the cultivation trials.”

Sanatech Seed的董事長竹下立夫告訴日本廣播協會說：“一開始人們對基因編輯食品褒貶不一，我們認為將其推向市場會很難，因為消費者對基因編輯食品不夠了解。但是參與西紅柿栽培試驗的人對這款西紅柿評價很好。”

A Japanese health ministry committee granted Sanatech Seed permission to commercialize the new tomato variety, provided notification was given, and the startup plans to ship each package of tomatoes with a sticker that says “improved using genome editing technology”.

日本厚生勞動省的一個委員會準許Sanatech Seed公司將這款新型西紅柿商業化，前提是告知消費者這是一款什么樣的西紅柿。于是這家初創公司計劃在每個西紅柿外包裝貼上“經基因編輯技術改良”的說明條。

Unlike genetically modified foods, genome-edited plant varieties are considered just as safe as varieties improved using conventional methods because no outside gene is introduced during the process.

和轉基因食品不同，基因編輯植物被認為和用傳統方法改良的新品種一樣安全，因為在基因編輯過程中沒有加入外來基因。

Sanatech Seed has already started accepting online orders for Sicilian Rouge High GABA tomatoes. A 3-kilogram box of tomatoes will reportedly cost 7,500 yen. That’s a lot of money for tomatoes…

Sanatech Seed公司已經開始接收訂購“高伽馬氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”西紅柿的線上訂單。據稱，一箱三公斤重的西紅柿價格為7500日元（約合人民幣438元）。這對西紅柿而言可真夠貴的。

英文來源：Oddity Central

翻譯&編輯：丹妮