In 2012, the full genome of the tomato was sequenced. Surprisingly, the tomato is made up of thousands of more genes than human beings.
The Tomato Genome Consortium is a group of researchers from around the globe. According to Science X’s web-based platform for research and development reporting, the group discovered tomatoes contain about 35,000 genes.
The human genome only has about 20,000 genes.
According to Avery Russell, assistant professor of biology at Missouri State University, tomatoes have more genes than humans because the “tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) has at least two genome triplications.” These triplications, or copies, “result in additional copies of an organism’s genome,” Russell said.
When these additional copies of chromosomes happen, the number of genes in an organism increases.
Russell also said several other species of animals and plants have more genes than humans do because “the number of genes … is thought to be largely unrelated to the complexity of the organism.”
Mice, for example, have approximately “10k more (genes) than our approximate 20k,” Russell said. Mice also have many duplications in their genes, like tomatoes.
Gene duplications have many different functions, according to Russell, which are “related to the unique environmental challenges and pressures” plants and animals experience.
Though humans are complex beings, “organisms without a brain have to respond to their environment too,” Russell said.
So, a tomato might not have a brain, but the fruit’s many genes give it the tools it needs to survive in its environment.
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