Springer nature's professional academic journal nature plants recently published a biotechnology research paper, saying that after engineering transformation, tomatoes can produce more Pro Vitamin D3, the precursor of vitamin D3, by blocking the action of an enzyme that usually converts vitamin D3 into cholesterol. This tomato may become a new dietary source of vitamin D3 and provide potential health benefits. The paper introduces that vitamin D deficiency is a major global health problem, affecting about 1 billion people around the world and increasing the risk of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Although sunlight can help the body synthesize vitamin D3, the main source of this vitamin is our diet. However, dietary sources of vitamin D3 are very limited, especially plant sources. In collaboration with colleagues and international peers, Cathie Martin, the corresponding author of the paper and the John inners research center in the UK, edited a gene encoding an enzyme (7-dehydrocholesterol) in tomatoes, which usually converts vitamin D3 into cholesterol. By editing the gene, they blocked this pathway, allowing a large accumulation of Pro Vitamin D3 in tomato fruits and leaves without affecting plant growth, development or yield. After that, vitamin D3 can be converted into vitamin D3 after ultraviolet B treatment, or it can be used by the human body to synthesize vitamin D3 under ultraviolet B irradiation. The authors found that the content of vitamin D3 in a tomato fruit, if converted into vitamin D3, is equivalent to the level of two medium-sized eggs or 28 grams of tuna. They point out that eating this tomato fruit may help meet the daily vitamin D3 intake requirements of children and adults. "Nature plants" published an article on "news and views" by peer experts from Ghent University in Belgium at the same time. It believes that this strategy of the latest research may inspire further research on crop engineering, so as to improve the content of vitamin D3 in plants. (outlook new era)