All organisms, from bacteria to humans, exhibit endogenous rhythms controlled by the circadian clock. These rhythms are important for synchronization with the environment. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne were able to show that the circadian clock of the cultivated tomato slowed during domestication. This deceleration is likely an adaptation to the long summer days that the cultivated species encountered as it was carried away from the equator.
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