PubMed · 2026-06-19
Scientists discovered that adding mammalian immune-signaling proteins to the lab process used to create genetically edited tomato plants dramatically improved success rates, especially in stubborn tomato varieties that previously resisted gene editing. This three-year study spanning six tomato lines suggests a broadly applicable trick for unlocking CRISPR-based improvements across diverse crop genotypes.
Mammalian growth factor supplementation significantly improved regeneration frequency across six tomato lines over three years, with the strongest gains in genotypes that previously resisted transformation
Two cytokines and one pro-inflammatory factor were selected based on their molecular similarity to plant kinase genes, suggesting a cross-kingdom signaling mechanism may underlie the effect
Growth factor treatment increased not only initial transformation success but also the yield of stable secondary transgenic lines, compounding the benefit for breeding programs
