The peculiar fruit that could become like strawberry

Science Alert: That’s because scientists have used the groundcherry as an experimental test case to illustrate just how quickly CRISPR genome editing can speed up the domestication of wild, unruly plants. For a relatively obscure crop like the groundcherry (Physalis pruinosa) – aka ‘husk cherries’ and native to Central and South America – it would have been a long, hard road to acceptance within mainstream agriculture without the helping hand of scientists. That’s because it’s difficult to grow, and its fruit sporadically drops to the ground from the vine, often before it’s ripe, making it difficult to farm on a large scale.