Editing Lettuce (section)

== History ==
[[File:Romaine lettuce.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Romaine lettuce]], a descendant of some of the earliest cultivated lettuce]]
DNA analysis of 445 types of lettuce indicates that lettuce was first domesticated from its [[Lactuca serriola|wild ancestor]] near the [[Caucasus]], where [[Shattering (agriculture)|seed shattering]] was first selected out of the [[cultivar]]. At this time, the lettuce plant was only suitable for harvesting its [[Seed|seeds]], which could be pressed to extract [[Vegetable oil|oil]], likely used for cooking, among other purposes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Wei |first1=Tong |last2=van Treuren |first2=Rob |last3=Liu |first3=Xinjiang |last4=Zhang |first4=Zhaowu |last5=Chen |first5=Jiongjiong |last6=Liu |first6=Yang |last7=Dong |first7=Shanshan |last8=Sun |first8=Peinan |last9=Yang |first9=Ting |last10=Lan |first10=Tianming |last11=Wang |first11=Xiaogang |last12=Xiong |first12=Zhouquan |last13=Liu |first13=Yaqiong |last14=Wei |first14=Jinpu |last15=Lu |first15=Haorong |date=2021-04-12 |title=Whole-genome resequencing of 445 Lactuca accessions reveals the domestication history of cultivated lettuce |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-021-00831-0 |journal=Nature Genetics |language=en |volume=53 |issue=5 |pages=752–760 |doi=10.1038/s41588-021-00831-0 |pmid=33846635 |issn=1546-1718}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=van Treuren |first=Rob |date=2021-04-12 |title=The DNA of lettuce unravelled: in 6000 years from weed to beloved vegetable |url=https://www.wur.nl/en/newsarticle/the-dna-of-lettuce-unravelled-in-6000-years-from-weed-to-beloved-vegetable.htm |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Wageningen University & Research}}</ref> From there, lettuce was likely transported to the [[Near East]] and then to [[ancient Egypt]],<ref name=":0" /> where the first depictions of lettuce cultivation can be found as early as 2680 BC.<ref name=":3" /> Like the early lettuce from the Caucasus, this lettuce was grown to produce cooking oil from its seeds.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Katz |first1=Solomon H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CAtXswEACAAJ |title=Encyclopedia of Food and Culture |last2=Weaver |first2=William Woys |publisher=Scribner |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-684-80568-9 |volume=2 |pages=375–376 |language=en}}</ref>

Lettuce was considered a sacred plant of the reproduction god [[Min (god)|Min]], and was carried during his festivals and placed near his images. The plant was thought to help the god "perform the sexual act untiringly".<ref>{{cite book |author=Hart, George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1LAiPylZm4C&q=lettuce+in+egyptian+ritual&pg=PA95 |title=The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=1-134-28424-1 |edition=2nd |page=95 |access-date=6 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928054557/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1LAiPylZm4C&q=lettuce+in+egyptian+ritual&pg=PA95 |archive-date=28 September 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Its use in religious ceremonies resulted in the creation of many images in tombs and wall paintings. The cultivated variety appears to have been about {{convert|75|cm|abbr=on}} tall and resembled a large version of the modern [[romaine lettuce]]. These upright lettuces were developed by the Egyptians and passed to the Greeks, who in turn shared them with the Romans.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} Around 50 AD, Roman agriculturalist [[Columella]] described several lettuce varieties&nbsp;– some of which may have been ancestors of today's lettuces.<ref name=":3" />

The plant was eventually selectively bred into a plant grown for its edible leaves.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> The long leaves in Egyptian depictions suggest that it may have been grown for its leaves, which would make it the first lettuce cultivar grown for this purpose.<ref name=":2" /> However, genome wide analysis suggests the traits needed for cultivation as a leafy vegetable, like the loss of bitterness and thorns, evolved much later, from around 500 BC in Southern Europe. Lettuce cultivars radiated more rapidly from this point, with [[Lettuce#Cultivars (varieties)|oilseed lettuce]] likely being brought by the ancient Greeks from Egypt to Italy, where it was modified into [[Romaine lettuce|''cos'' lettuce]] and cultivated for its leaves. From there, it was brought north to Central Europe, where it was modified into [[Lettuce#Cultivars (varieties)|butterhead lettuce]] and other varieties.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" />

Lettuce appears in many medieval writings, especially as a medicinal herb. [[Hildegard of Bingen]] mentioned it in her writings on medicinal herbs between 1098 and 1179, and many early [[herbal]]s also describe its uses. In 1586, [[Joachim Camerarius]] provided descriptions of the three basic modern lettuces&nbsp;– head lettuce, loose-leaf lettuce, and romaine (or cos) lettuce.<ref name=":4" /> Lettuce was first brought to the Americas from Europe by [[Christopher Columbus]] in the late 15th century.<ref name="CDC" /><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxrMm9lMFUAC&q=Christopher+Columbus+lettuce+new+world&pg=PA313|chapter=Lettuce Diseases: Ecology and Control|author1=Subbarao, Krishna V.|author2=Koike, Steven T.|title=Encyclopedia of Pest Management, Volume 2|editor=Pimentel, David|publisher=CRC Press|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4200-5361-6|page=313|access-date=6 October 2020|archive-date=28 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928054449/https://books.google.com/books?id=DxrMm9lMFUAC&q=Christopher+Columbus+lettuce+new+world&pg=PA313|url-status=live}}</ref> Between the late 16th century and the early 18th century, many varieties were developed in Europe, particularly Holland. Books published in the mid-18th and early 19th centuries describe several varieties found in gardens today.<ref name=":2" />

Due to its short lifespan after harvest, lettuce was originally sold relatively close to where it was grown. The early 20th century saw the development of new packing, storage and shipping technologies that improved the lifespan and transportability of lettuce and resulted in a significant increase in availability.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Twilley |first1=Nicola |title=Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves |date=2024 |publisher=Penguin Press |location=New York |isbn=9780735223288 |pages=124–131 |edition=1st}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} During the 1950s, lettuce production was revolutionized with the development of [[vacuum cooling]], which allowed field cooling and packing of lettuce, replacing the previously used method of ice-cooling in packing houses outside the fields.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/repositoryfiles/ca1011p3-64576.pdf|title=House Packing Western Lettuce|author1=Enochian, R.V.|author2=Smith, F.J|journal=California Agriculture|date=November 1956|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615003744/http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/repositoryfiles/ca1011p3-64576.pdf|archive-date=15 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Lettuce is easy to grow, and as such has been a significant source of sales for many [[seed companies]]. Tracing the history of many varieties is complicated by the practice of many companies, particularly in the US, of changing a variety's name from year to year. This practice is conducted for several reasons, the most prominent being to boost sales by promoting a "new" variety, or to prevent customers from knowing that the variety had been developed by a competing seed company. Documentation from the late 19th century shows between 65 and 140 distinct varieties of lettuce, depending on the amount of variation allowed between types&nbsp;– a distinct difference from the 1,100 named lettuce varieties on the market at the time. Names also often changed significantly from country to country.<ref>Weaver, pp. 173–174.</ref> Although most lettuce grown today is used as a vegetable, a minor amount is used in the production of [[tobacco-free cigarettes]]; however, domestic lettuce's wild relatives produce a leaf that visually more closely resembles tobacco.<ref name="Katz377">Katz and Weaver, p. 377.</ref>