Great! The bitter taste of vegetables, melons and fruits can be "accurately" adjusted.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 29-the internationally renowned academic journal Natural plants published online on the 29th the research results of a Chinese scientific research group on plant secondary metabolism. This result reveals that Cucurbitaceae plants have a very similar history of domestication of bitter characters. Using this feature, breeders will be able to "accurately" regulate the bitterness of vegetables and fruits, so as to cultivate new varieties with better quality and taste.

The study was organized by Shang Yi and Huang Sanwen, associate researchers of the vegetable Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and completed the convergence, domestication and differential evolution of the bitter characteristics of gourd crops.

Through the comprehensive use of a variety of methods, the researchers revealed that Cucurbitaceae plants have a very similar history of bitterness domestication. Making use of this characteristic of convergence and domestication, breeders can accurately adjust the bitter characters in watermelon, muskmelon root and fruit respectively. On the one hand, to ensure that the fruit does not accumulate bitter substances, to ensure the quality of goods; on the other hand, to improve the bitter content of roots to resist the invasion of germs and pests in the soil. (Dong Jun, Ren Kexin)