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Japan starts selling world’s first genome-edited tomato
日本研发出能抑制高血压的西红柿 一公斤就要146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 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.
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 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 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 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 yen. 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。
