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Tomato

An international consortium of researchers from 10 countries began sequencing the tomato genome in 2004. A prerelease version of the genome was made available in December 2009. The complete genome for the cultivar Heinz 1706 was published on 31 May 2012 in ''Nature''. The latest reference genome published in 2021 had 799 MB and encodes 34,384 (predicted) proteins, spread over 12 chromosomes.

The first commercially available genetically modified food was a tomato called Flavr Savr, which was engineered to have a longer shelf life. It could be vine ripened without compromising shelf life, which was expected to improve the flavor over ethylene-ripened tomatoes. However, it was not firmer than its unmodified parent, to the disappointment of its creators, who originally wanted to create a vine-ripened tomato that can survive machine-picking. The parent variety was also subpar in terms of yields. As a result, the product was not commercially successful, and was sold only until 1997.

When the Mesoamericans domesticated tomatoes, they selected for less bitter fruits. This corresponded to the increased activity of a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase called ''23DOX'' (synonym ''GAME31'') during fruit ripening, which converts the bitter and slightly toxic α-tomatine into hydroxytomatine, which is eventually converted into the non-bitter and non-toxic esculeoside A. Provided by Wikipedia