. >> reporter: mini bell peppers, perfect for one.fed up broccoli, and lettuce with the crunch of iceberg and the nutrients. all created by monsanta, and some could already be in a grocery store near you. >> everybody wants a nice red water melon with a high level of sugar. >> this is a water melon breeder, working on the perfect melon for the fruit market. >> we are looking for higher shelf life, something that doesn't have a lot of juice when you cut it into pieces. >> why the trades? >> we are trying to get a water melon. >> he's trying to create a vegey that is more nutritious and tastier and resistant to disease and the hazards of shipping. the scientists are not genetically modifying plants to get what they want. they using biotechno how to speed up a process - cross breeding. marlin edwards is the head of research and development for vegetables. >> we take samples from plants, extract the tna and -- d.n.a. and characterise it to see if it has breeders or properties that we are looking for. >> edwards launched the market assiste

. >> mini bell peppers, perfect for one. beefed up broccoli that boosts your antioxidants.and lettuce with the crunch of iceberg and the nutrients of rowroyroromaine. >>> he's working on the perfect medicalon for fresh cut fruit market. >> we're looking for the high shelf life, something that doesn't have a lot of juice with you cut it into pieces. >> why that specific trait? >> we're trying to create a watewaterwatermelon that holds r in a cup. >> they are using their biotech know-how to speed up a process farmers have been using for thousands of years. crossbreeding. marlon edwards is the head of research and development for monsanto's lab. >> characteristic the dna whether that particular plant or seed has properties that scientists are looking for. >> that imarker assisted breedig program. >> what is this marker? >> little stretches of dna that act as a sign post that tell us a little bit what's going on in that neighborhood in the national plan. >> are you actually manipulating the genome at all a? >> no, we are marking it, we characteristic the sample but never change