Uncovering a 125-Million-Year Evolutionary Mystery in Plant Genomes
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researchers have discovered that tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana plants use different regulatory systems to control the same gene, linked to genetic makeovers over 125 million years of evolution. Mutations in the CLV3 gene can dramatically increase fruit size, but the specific areas of the gene that need to be disrupted differ between the two plants, indicating divergent evolution. Understanding these genetic differences could make crop genome engineering more predictable and beneficial for farmers and plant breeders.