Application of sweet and taste modifying genes for development in plants: current status and prospects

Sweet and taste modifying proteins are natural alternatives to synthetic sweeteners and flavor enhancers, and have been used for centuries in different countries. Use of these proteins is limited due to less stability and availability. However, recent advances in biotechnology have enhanced their availability. These include production of sweet and taste modifying proteins in transgenic organisms, and protein engineering to improve their stability. Their increased availability in the food, beverage or medicinal industries as sweeteners and flavor enhancers will reduce the dependence on artificial alternatives. Production of transgenic plants using sweet and taste modifying genes, is an interesting alternative to the extraction of these products from natural source. In this review paper, we briefly describe various sweet and taste modifying proteins (such as thaumatin, monellin, brazzein, curculin and miraculin), their properties, and their application for plant development using biotechnological approaches.