EVALUATION ON INVASIVENESS AND AGRONOMIC TRAITS OF TRANSGENIC TOMATO WITH MIRACULIN GENE

Abstract

Tomato cv. Moneymaker has been engineered with a miraculin gene that can be used as an alternative sweetener since it can modify sour taste becomes sweet taste in our tongue when we are eating such tomato. Environmental safety assessment test is important step in assessing the safety of transgenic tomato before it is released to the environment, therefore it is in accordance with sustainability point of views. Evaluation was performed for invasiveness (potentially to be invasive) and agronomic traits of transgenic tomato compared to its counterpart. The evaluation of invasiveness was carried out in biosafety containment of ICABIOGRAD, Bogor by growing a mixture of transgenic and non-transgenic with 0: 100 and 100: 0 (mono-culture); 25: 75; 50: 50; and 75: 25 (poly-culture). Wet and dry biomasses of three weeks old tomato plants were then measured. Aggressiveness of transgenic miraculin tomato was equal with its counterpart as shown in its aggressiveness value -0.17 and 0 (for wet weight) and - 0.32 and 0 (for dry weight) in mixture and mono-culture, respectively. In terms of agronomic traits evaluation, it was found that no significant differences on plant height, stem diameter, fruit weight, fruit diameter and leaf area index of transgenic miraculin tomato and its non-transgenic one, suggesting transgenic miraculin tomato cv. Moneymaker is substantially equivalent to non- transgenic except for the presence of miraculin transgene.