Durian will be available for people with diabetes

A group of Singaporean scientists has discovered the gene that regulates durian odor. This is the first time that the characteristic flavor of this fruit is explained in terms of genetics.

Many people in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, love durian flavors - dubbed the tropical "fruit king", but some people can't eat because the smell is too strong.

The five-person team from the National Cancer Institute of Singapore (NCCS) and Duke Medical School - NUS, have been investigating durian smells since the beginning of 2015 and have recently published results in Nature Genetics.

Accordingly, the team used a modern gene analysis technique to study Musang King durian variety and detect its genome including 46,000 genes, almost double that of humans.

Scientists in the research group durian - (Photo: The Straits Times).

Among them, they discovered a gene called methionine gamma lyases (MGL) capable of regulating durian-specific compounds - referred to as VSC for short, appears very much in meat but not in leaves, in trees, or in roots.

At the same time, they also found that the gene in durian Musang King is more active than Monthong - a slightly more fragrant durian variety grown in Thailand. In addition, MGL only works strongly in ripe fruits.

From the above results, the team said it could "turn off" this gene so that durian smells lighter.

In addition, genetic identification in this study can be used to regulate genes that help plants fight disease, drought and regulate a taste.

"For example, we can study genes that affect durian sugar, thus creating durian varieties for diabetics , " said Professor Bin Tean Teh of the research group.

At the same time, he also hoped to contribute to preserving the biodiversity in the region, because some durian types were not interested in due to less commercial value.