seed germination inside tomato

mohoghead · January 26, 2015

I have never seen this happen before. these are store bought tomatoes on a vine. any explanation is appreciated.

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Darren Abbey · January 26, 2015

Many modern store-bought tomatoes have a gene called RIN (Ripening Inhibition) and will remain green until they've been exposed to ethylene gas. Ethylene gas is the natural hormone used by the plant to trigger ripening and the RIN mutation inhibits the fruit's ability to produce the hormone.

Because of this, the fruits can sit in storage for an extended time and then be ripened just in time to be put out at the grocery.

An unexpected consequence of this process seems to be the seedling issue you note. When fruit/seeds initially grow, the plant makes hormones that inhibit seed germination, but these hormones break down with time. The longer the RIN tomatoes sit in their green state, the more likely the seeds are to wake up once you get the red tomatoes home.

There are research papers out there about the RIN gene and ethylene, but I'm not sure if any address the seed germination issue.

4season · January 26, 2015

I have had pumpkin seeds sprout inside a freshly harvested naked seed pumkin, but have never seen it happen a tomato.

Darren Abbey · January 26, 2015

If you were to grow some of the seeds from the variety, you would get a bunch of hard green tomatoes that would never ripen on their own. They will store well and you could ripen them on command by placing a few bananas with them. Bananas use the same ripening hormone and produce a large excess of it into the air around them.

This would be the perfect long-storage tomato, so long as you could get some bananas from time to time.

jmsieglaff · January 26, 2015

Return them to the store, see what they say.

mohoghead · January 26, 2015

Thank you for the response, I passed it on to my friend, definite wake up call for her, and bolstered my argument about growing your own and canning for the winter.

mohoghead · January 26, 2015

Along this line I do have another question, my understanding is the gel sac around the seed was to prevent them from germinating, how did they get around that?

Worth1 · January 26, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by mohoghead

Along this line I do have another question, my understanding is the gel sac around the seed was to prevent them from germinating, how did they get around that?

The hormones in the gel broke down because they have been sitting around for months.

Worth

mohoghead · January 26, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

The hormones in the gel broke down because they have been sitting around for months.

Worth

Thank you.

JJJessee · January 26, 2015

Ask Monsanto.

Darren Abbey · January 26, 2015

The RIN mutation was discovered in a farm field in 1960s. Monsanto had nothing to do with it and it isn't in any way a GMO.

The early analysis of the trait in 1974: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/...8#.VMaFIktNLwJ

Worth1 · January 26, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darren Abbey

The RIN mutation was discovered in a farm field in 1960s. Monsanto had nothing to do with it and it isn't in any way a GMO.

The early analysis of the trait in 1974: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/...8#.VMaFIktNLwJ

I bet a flying saucer caused the mutation.

Cole_Robbie · January 27, 2015

They look like tomato Chia-Pets.

ddsack · January 27, 2015

What's amazing to me is that the sprouts can punch their way through the tough skin. Guess they have no lack of moisture and nutrients.

Labradors2 · January 27, 2015

About the gel inhibiting ripening. I don't know about that. I've sprouted seeds from fresh tomatoes (grown by me) which were not bad or over-ripe. I wanted some seeds from those varieties, dug them out to plant, and ate the rest of the tomato. I have also had seedlings sprout in my garden from fruit that had fallen and sat around for a while.

Linda

January 26, 2015	#1
mohoghead Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: suburbs of Caledonia, MO Posts: 13	seed germination inside tomato I have never seen this happen before. these are store bought tomatoes on a vine. any explanation is appreciated. [/IMG]

January 26, 2015	#2
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	Many modern store-bought tomatoes have a gene called RIN (Ripening Inhibition) and will remain green until they've been exposed to ethylene gas. Ethylene gas is the natural hormone used by the plant to trigger ripening and the RIN mutation inhibits the fruit's ability to produce the hormone. Because of this, the fruits can sit in storage for an extended time and then be ripened just in time to be put out at the grocery. An unexpected consequence of this process seems to be the seedling issue you note. When fruit/seeds initially grow, the plant makes hormones that inhibit seed germination, but these hormones break down with time. The longer the RIN tomatoes sit in their green state, the more likely the seeds are to wake up once you get the red tomatoes home. There are research papers out there about the RIN gene and ethylene, but I'm not sure if any address the seed germination issue. __________________ http://the-biologist-is-in.blogspot.com Last edited by Darren Abbey; January 26, 2015 at 11:21 AM.

January 26, 2015	#4
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	If you were to grow some of the seeds from the variety, you would get a bunch of hard green tomatoes that would never ripen on their own. They will store well and you could ripen them on command by placing a few bananas with them. Bananas use the same ripening hormone and produce a large excess of it into the air around them. This would be the perfect long-storage tomato, so long as you could get some bananas from time to time. __________________ http://the-biologist-is-in.blogspot.com

January 26, 2015	#11
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	The RIN mutation was discovered in a farm field in 1960s. Monsanto had nothing to do with it and it isn't in any way a GMO. The early analysis of the trait in 1974: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/...8#.VMaFIktNLwJ __________________ http://the-biologist-is-in.blogspot.com

January 27, 2015	#14
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	What's amazing to me is that the sprouts can punch their way through the tough skin. Guess they have no lack of moisture and nutrients. __________________ Dee **************

January 26, 2015	#3
4season Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: albuquerque Posts: 308	I have had pumpkin seeds sprout inside a freshly harvested naked seed pumkin, but have never seen it happen a tomato.

January 26, 2015	#5
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	Return them to the store, see what they say.

January 26, 2015	#10
JJJessee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Abingdon, Va Posts: 184	Ask Monsanto.

January 27, 2015	#13
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	They look like tomato Chia-Pets.

January 27, 2015	#15
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,896	About the gel inhibiting ripening. I don't know about that. I've sprouted seeds from fresh tomatoes (grown by me) which were not bad or over-ripe. I wanted some seeds from those varieties, dug them out to plant, and ate the rest of the tomato. I have also had seedlings sprout in my garden from fruit that had fallen and sat around for a while. Linda