Thursday, May 16, 2019

Creation Moment 5/17/2019 - Lesson from Tomatoes

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: Genesis 1:11

In the article below we can Learn how Genetics really operates.....you will see how a kind (in this case among plants-the Tomato) begins with a set of programed genes...and over time genetic info can be Lost producing different varieties of the plant. But Tomatoes are still Tomatoes.
Now apply what is below to animals and humans. This is how we get different shapes, sizes and colors--yet canines are still canines, humans are still humans and Tomatoes are still Tomatoes.

"While cultivated tomatoes have a wide range of physical and metabolic variation, there have been several severe bottlenecks during its domestication and breeding. This means today’s tomatoes have a narrow genetic base.

The tomato pan-genome helps identify what additional genes beyond the reference might be available for crop breeding and improvement. It includes all of the genes from 725 different cultivated and closely related wild tomatoes, which revealed 4,873 genes that were absent from the original reference genome.
The pan-genome essentially provides a reservoir of additional genes not present in the reference genome. Breeders can explore the pan-genome for genes of interest, and potentially select for them as they do further breeding to improve their tomatoes,” said co-lead author Dr. Zhangjun Fei.
One of the most important discoveries from constructing this pan-genome is a rare form of a gene labeled TomLoxC, which mostly differs in the version of its DNA gene promoter,” added co-lead author Dr. James Giovannoni.
In addition, the researchers found a new role of TomLoxC — it facilitates production of a group of apocarotenoids that work as signaling molecules influencing a variety of responses in plants including environmental stresses. The compounds also have a
variety of floral and fruity odors that are important in tomato taste.
The rare version of TomLoxC was found in only 2% of older or heirloom cultivated large tomato varieties, although the version was present in 91% of currant-sized wild tomatoes, primarily Solanum pimpinellifolium, the wild predecessor of the cultivated tomato. It is becoming more common in newer varieties.
“It appears that there may have been strong selection pressure against or at least no selection for the presence of this version of TomLoxC early in the domestication of tomatoes,” Dr. Giovannoni said.
The increase in prevalence of this form in modern tomatoes likely reflects breeders’ renewed interest in improved flavor."
SciNews