Wikimedia, Eliza42015
Species: Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum
Genome size: 900 million base pairs
After a 9-year effort by researchers in 14 countries, the first genome sequence of a tomato—of the original Heinz ketchup variety—was released this May. Anticipation of the fleshy fruit’s genome stems from what the sequences could tell researchers about the tomato’s economically important relatives, including potato, eggplant, tobacco, and pepper. The potato, for instance, which has also recently had its genome sequenced, is 92 percent genetically similar to the tomato. Now, scientists can start figuring out how the differing 8 percent of their genes make tomato plants producing luscious, above ground fruit, while potato plants result in knobby, subterranean tubers. The tomato genome sequence also revealed that the species has triplicated its genome—twice. A triplication ...
