The mystery of the origin of the watermelon still worried scientists. In which country was it first used for food? Where was the watermelon, which was originally inherent in bitterness, domesticated and turned into a delicious sweet berry?
And now the answer seems to be clear. Thanks to their research, it was found by German biologists from the University of Munich. The reason for the research was a find dating back to 1876. then the botanist Joseph Hooker, a close friend of Charles Darwin, during the excavation of an Egyptian tomb, discovered watermelon leaves on the mummy.
A sample of these leaves was examined. Experts have analyzed the genome of this ancient watermelon. The results showed that the gene that controls the bitterness in watermelons was turned off, meaning the leaf belonged to the sweet fruit.
According to experts, this could only happen with human intervention, and with a high probability it can be said that the ancient Egyptians domesticated the watermelon.
Scientists also identified another gene that controlled the red pigment lycopene – which led to the conclusion that 3500 years ago, the Egyptians ate the sweet red watermelons that we all enjoy today.
Let us remind you that earlier we talked about how we learned to grow “cocktail” watermelons in Holland, and also wondered what an unusual dish is served from watermelon in a New York restaurant.