Research at North Carolina State University has uncovered what genes make carrots orange. And that’s actually what makes them so nutritious.
Researcher Mossimo Iorizzo says after sequencing the genomes of 630 types of carrots and looking for variations associated with particular traits it was found that when three specific genes were turned off, carrots produced high levels of alpha and beta-carotene. Not only does that give them their orange color, it also makes them a fantastic source of Vitamin A.
