日本新近研发出一种基因编辑西红柿，外观和普通西红柿没有区别，但富含一种特殊的氨基酸，据说可以让人放松，还有助于降低血压。目前这款西红柿已获准上市销售，售价为三公斤7500日元。

 

Sicilian Rouge¹ High GABA is a special type of tomato designed to contain high levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid believed to aid relaxation² and help lower blood pressure.

“高伽马氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”是一种特殊的西红柿，它含有大量的伽马氨基丁酸，据称，这种氨基酸可以让人放松，并有助于降低血压。

 

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 gene³-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 domain⁴ within the tomato's genome to enable it to produce these high levels of GABA.

总部在东京的初创企业Sanatech Seed和筑波大学的科学家用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术联合研发出了这种名为“高伽马氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”的新型西红柿。这种新型西红柿所含的伽马氨基丁酸水平是普通西红柿的五到六倍。据日媒报道，该公司移除了西红柿基因组里的一个抑制域，从而使其能够生成大量的高伽马氨基丁酸。

 

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 genetically⁵ 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的总裁兼Pioneer EcoScience的首席创新官竹下慎平称，公司于去年12月获准将基因编辑西红柿“高伽马氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”商业化，自那以后承包的农户就开始种植这款西红柿。现在，这款西红柿即将上市销售。Pioneer EcoScience是这款西红柿的独家经销商。

 

"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 fully⁶ 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 cultivation⁷ trials."

Sanatech Seed的董事长竹下立夫告诉日本广播协会说：“一开始人们对基因编辑食品褒贬不一，我们认为将其推向市场会很难，因为消费者对基因编辑食品不够了解。但是参与西红柿栽培试验的人对这款西红柿评价很好。”

 

A Japanese health ministry⁸ 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".

日本厚生劳动省的一个委员会准许Sanatech Seed公司将这款新型西红柿商业化，前提是告知消费者这是一款什么样的西红柿。于是这家初创公司计划在每个西红柿外包装贴上“经基因编辑技术改良”的说明条。

 

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.

和转基因食品不同，基因编辑植物被认为和用传统方法改良的新品种一样安全，因为在基因编辑过程中没有加入外来基因。

 

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 yen⁹. That's a lot of money for tomatoes…

Sanatech Seed公司已经开始接收订购“高伽马氨基丁酸西西里胭脂”西红柿的线上订单。据称，一箱三公斤重的西红柿价格为7500日元（约合人民币438元）。这对西红柿而言可真够贵的。

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