Saturday 14 October 2017

Durian DNA reveals stinky secrets of the 'king of fruit'

The smell of durian has been described by some as "turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock" — and scientists have now unlocked the biology behind its infamous aroma.

Key points

  • Durian is renowned for its pungent smell and strong taste
  • It is a delicacy and important cash crop in Southeast Asia
  • Genome study reveals extra copies of a key gene involved in sulphur production, which contributes to the smell
Many people in South-East Asia, including Professor Bin Tean Teh, love the tropical delicacy, which is known as the "king of fruit".
"It has a very rich, creamy taste. To us it's like a heavenly smell and it melts in your mouth," said Professor Teh, a cancer researcher at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.
Professor Teh is the lead author of a study, published today in Nature Genetics, which has identified key genes that are responsible for the fruit's pungent smell and strong taste.

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