Abstract: Use of dried rehydratable food, such as in a dried soup, a dried beverage, a breakfast cereal, a yoghurt and a dried sauce, is widespread. However it has been observed that when the dried components are fruit and/or vegetable, the components, on rehydration, do not resemble the fruit and/or vegetable before desiccation. That is to say they no longer have a fresh appearance but are discoloured and lack firmness. This transformation is due to cellular damage which occurs during desiccation. In particular, it is thought that phospholipid membranes are destabilised by insertion of cellular amphiphiles, phase transition into the gel phase and membrane fusion. This invention seeks to solve the above-mentioned technical problem by providing, amongst other things, a dried rehydratable food which is a fruit, vegetable or part thereof which, on rehydration, has improved appearance, texture and rehydration properties.

Abstract: Use of dried rehydratable food, such as in a dried soup, a dried beverage, a breakfast cereal, a yoghurt and a dried sauce, is widespread. However it has been observed that when the dried components are fruit and/or vegetable, the components, on rehydration, do not resemble the fruit and/or vegetable before desiccation. That is to say they no longer have a fresh appearance but are discoloured and lack firmness. This transformation is due to cellular damage which occurs during desiccation. In particular, it is thought that phospholipid membranes are destabilised by insertion of cellular amphiphiles, phase transition into the gel phase and membrane fusion. This invention seeks to solve the above-mentioned technical problem by providing, amongst other things, a dried rehydratable food which is a fruit, vegetable or part thereof which, on rehydration, has improved appearance, texture and rehydration properties.

Abstract: Processed tomato products which have an increased consistency as expressed by reduced Bostwick at certain insoluble solids level and Brix value.

Abstract: Homozygous rin and/or nor and/or alc tomatoes, or tomatoes heterozygous in both rin and nor and/or alc are used to prepare a tomato paste, juice or sauce having good viscosity as well as good color. Preferably the tomatoes used also include color enhancing genes such as old gold crimson (ogc) high pigment (hp), dark green (dg), intense pigment (Ip), or color enhancing transgenic genes.

Abstract: Disclosed are nucleic acids from tomato encoding polypeptides having xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase (XET) activity, comprising residues 21-289 of the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 1 (SEQ ID NO:2) or or comprising residues 19-287 of the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO:8), and transgenic plants comprising said nucleic acids.

Abstract: Disclosed is a nucleotide sequence comprising substantially the sequence of nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in FIG. 1 encoding an enzyme having exo-(1.fwdarw.4)-.beta.-D-galactanase activity or a precursor or derivative of such an enzyme, or the functional equivalent of such a sequence. Also disclosed are vectors and hosts comprising the sequence of the invention, and a polypeptide encoded thereby. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of a functionally equivalent enzyme obtainable from tomato fruit are also disclosed.

Abstract: A sequence encoding an enzyme having a xyloglucan-specific endo-(1-4)-beta-D-glucanase activity, and functional equivalents thereof, is disclosed. Also disclosed are vectors comprising such sequences, and transgenic plants into which such sequences have been introduced, a method of altering the characteristics of a plant, and a method of producing an enzyme having the activity defined above by means of recombinant DNA technology.

Abstract: A new seed-specific plant promoter is provided, capable of expressing a gene placed under control of said promoter before or during fatty acid or lipid biosynthesis in plant cells. In nature it occurs in the acyl carrier protein (ACP) gene. This opens the possibility of modifying the fatty acid synthesis in plants, which may result in changing the triacylglycerol composition of oil-containing seeds. Another option is the production of a desired protein in plants, either to improve the nutritional value of the seeds, or for the production of specific proteins that can be isolated from the fruits of plants.