In a study published in Nature Genetics, researchers from the University of Georgia and their international collaborators have identified a total of 4,873 genes that were entirely or partially absent from the reference tomato genome. This gene loss was particularly pronounced in cultivated tomatoes, with wild relatives containing more genes than their domesticated counterparts.
Lost Genes and Domestication
Among the lost genes, several encode for defense response traits and those that were negatively selected during domestication, such as a fruit weight gene and TomLoxC, which controls the levels of apocarotenoids and is critical for tomato flavor.