# Which human bred plant is the most genetically different from the original ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626 "2017-07-19T03:55:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/41 "2017-07-22T01:30:21Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/42 "2017-07-22T01:31:29Z")
You missed breadfruit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/43 "2017-07-22T01:32:19Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I am told that cherries and strawberries used to be smaller and tastier than they are today, and that a tomato from 70 years ago was leaps and bounds more delicious than the modern one. Strawberries yes. Much smaller, sweeter, tastier- but you could get fresh strawberries only for about a month. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/44 "2017-07-22T01:33:05Z")
If green unripe tomatoes were poisonous, I’d be dead by now. I just had some with supper, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/45 "2017-07-22T16:23:10Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > This is an American board. Well, kiss maah grits, Aah had no ideaah! Bless your heart for tellin’ me, son. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/46 "2017-07-22T19:15:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It may seem like there should be some natural quantitative way to measure degree of genetic difference, but I can’t see any obvious way to deal with either polyploidy or hybridization in such a measure… To expand a little on this: We look at the molecular genetic divergence between species to construct qualitative phylogenies (order of divergence in the tree of life) and to make quantitative estimates of divergence times and ancestral population sizes. For these purposes, we look at _alignable_ sequence - that is, sequence with sufficient similarity that we can infer common ancestry for that segment of DNA; and we generally look only at single base substitutions, since these mutations occur in a clock-like manner through evolutionary time. In other words, the number of single base differences in alignable sequence is proportional to the time since species divergence. For the purpose of constructing phylogenies, this “molecular clock” is still valid for alignable sequence regardless of other major changes that may have happened within the genome - there will also be large or small insertions or deletions or duplications or fusions of chromosomes. For phylogenetic purposes, these other phenomena are usually ignored. But, of course - these other changes may be responsible for many phenotypic differences. Quantifying them is much more challenging. This, in part, is why there is often confusion about exactly what is meant when a statistic such as “chimp and human DNA is only 2% different”, or “3% of our DNA comes from Neanderthals”. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/47 "2017-07-22T19:57:58Z")
Strawberries may once have been smaller, but the fresh summer strawberries in CA are outrageously good and sweet. Any sweeter it’d be a lump of sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/48 "2017-07-22T21:28:27Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > This is an American board. Actually, if you go by where the membership hails from, it is an international board. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/49 "2017-07-22T22:06:40Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Note: potatoes and eggplant are also Solanum species. Potato plants can put out fruit that resemble small green tomatoes. They contain a lot of solanine, which is poisonous. ---
**Author:** ![Murph1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Murph1111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murph1111)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/50 "2017-07-23T00:24:47Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I am told that cherries and strawberries used to be smaller and tastier than they are today, and that a tomato from 70 years ago was leaps and bounds more delicious than the modern one. There are at least two factors here: yes, heirloom tomatoes have a wider range of flavors (as well as colors, sizes, shapes) than “store bought”. That, by itself, might make them taste better (provided you found a flavor you liked). But they also tend to ripen, and subsequently go bad, faster than the store variety. So chances are, any heirloom tomatoes have come directly from a garden, picked at their ripest, while the store ones, selected for their staying power rather than their taste, may be weeks old. So I’m sure it’s true, but it’s like comparing J Lo the person with J Lo the wax dummy at Madame Tussaud’s. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/51 "2017-07-23T00:44:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Strawberries yes. Much smaller, sweeter, tastier- but you could get fresh strawberries only for about a month. Ah, but the wild ones are horrid, all gritty seeds and hard and bitter, or at best pithy and tasteless. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/52 "2017-07-23T02:43:12Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Keep in mind, most of those reports are from the elderly whose sense of taste has greatly diminished from their youth and memories of taste are tricky anyway. > > What you need is a real comparison between true heirloom fruits and the current ones sold in mass. In my experience as a home gardener, the real distinguishing factor isn’t the variety as much as it is the growing conditions and how long/where you let it ripen. You can take a super-commercial tomato hybrid like say… Celebrity, and if you take care of it, and let it ripen _fully_ on the fine, it’ll be great. Same for heirloom varieties. I suppose it’s possible that if you let them all ripen on the vine, some heirloom varieties may be more tasty than hybrids, but that’s one of those very faint shades of gray kinds of things in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/53 "2017-07-23T02:51:31Z")
How about [high altitude Andean pentaploid solanum tuberosum virum](http://www.who2.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/phead1.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/54 "2017-07-24T13:22:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > \ > \*I recall one article that called modern corn a “biological monstrosity”. From the point of view of humans, it’s great, with all that edible corn. From the point of view of the plant, all those kernels/seeds require a ridiculously large input of resources and energy, then fall to close together and choke each other off. It is worse than that. Modern corn cannot release seeds on it’s own. Without humans, modern corn can’t reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/55 "2017-07-25T13:06:10Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > It is worse than that. Modern corn cannot release seeds on it’s own. Without humans, modern corn can’t reproduce. Actually it does. This creates a problem in areas with important native varieties. Someone brings in the latest and greatest outside variety. Grains fall off a truck. Those plants grow and reproduce naturally next to cultivated fields, etc. They interbreed with the local variety. The characteristics of the native types that might be important to survive in the long term due to local conditions get swamped. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/56 "2017-07-25T14:00:21Z")
I’m not sure “native” is a word I’d use for corn. But regardless, interpollination can occur and cause problems if you’re saving seeds, but that doesn’t mean corn can reseed itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/57 "2017-07-25T14:08:53Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Ah, but the wild ones are horrid, all gritty seeds and hard and bitter, or at best pithy and tasteless. There are a dozen or two wild species, not to mention hybrids, and I’ve yet to encounter one I’d describe as “gritty seeds and hard and bitter, or at best pithy and tasteless.” YMMV, but IME they’re typically superior to the oversized Fragaria x ananassa hybrids one typically finds in the American supermarket, although that may be an artifact of early picking. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/58 "2017-07-26T16:59:52Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I’m not sure “native” is a word I’d use for corn. But regardless, interpollination can occur and cause problems if you’re saving seeds, but that doesn’t mean corn can reseed itself. In order to crosspollinate, the other variety of corn has to be growing nearby. While in some places the majority is from other nearby planted corn, there is a problem in some regions (some areas of Mexico, for example), where the problem is self-sowing plants. Of course such self-sowing plants don’t breed true but their genes are still capable of being thrown into the mix. “Life finds a way.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/59 "2017-07-26T17:25:19Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Actually it does. This creates a problem in areas with important native varieties. Someone brings in the latest and greatest outside variety. Grains fall off a truck. Strange, how all those loose grains get on trucks without human help. The point is, corn is tightly wrapped in a thick layer of tough leaves. If no human is there to shuck away the leaves, the seeds rot. Without human intervention, corn is boned in a single generation. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626/60 "2017-07-26T17:33:47Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > There are a dozen or two wild species, not to mention hybrids, and I’ve yet to encounter one I’d describe as “gritty seeds and hard and bitter, or at best pithy and tasteless.” YMMV, but IME they’re typically superior to the oversized Fragaria x ananassa hybrids one typically finds in the American supermarket, although that may be an artifact of early picking. The wild strawberries I’m familiar with are something like [this](https://highmountainmuse.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/strawberries-and-creams/one-of-the-many-wild-strawberries-on-the-hillside-below-ditch/)–tiny, and yes, ranging from bitter to tasteless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-human-bred-plant-is-the-most-genetically-different-from-the-original/791626.md?page=4)