Adam Jozwiak / UC Riverside
A new research points out an unexpected reversal in the evolution of wild tomatoes in the galapagos, with great differences in alkaloid production.
A new published in Nature Communications reports a rare case of “inverse evolution” Between wild tomato plants on the Galapagos islands, revealing how species can get rid of millions of years of adaptations under environmental pressure.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and the Weizmann Institute of Sciences of Israel, focused on two tomato species- Solanum cheesmaniae e Solanum galapagense – that grow on the volcanic ground of the galapagos. Some of these plants have returned to produce old chemical compoundslast seen in the evolutionary ancestors of tomatoes.
“It’s not something we normally hope for,” said UC Riverside’s molecular biochemist Adam Jozwiak. “But here it is, to happen in real timeon a volcanic island. ”
The team analyzed 56 tomato samples and found glaring differences in the alkaloid productionthe toxic compounds used by plants to repel predators. In the oriental islands, tomatoes produce alkaloids similar to those found in modern cultivated varieties. But on the younger and more arid islands, the investigators discovered a more primitive way From the compound, very similar to that found in tomatoes such as the eggplant, which dates back to millions of years.
Subsequent genetic analyzes identified a specific enzyme responsible for altered alkaloid production. Remarkably, a change in just a few amino acids in the enzyme structure was sufficient to resurrect the old chemistry. Unlike the previously observed genetic atavisms, this evolutionary inversion occurred naturally and spread widely through the wild populations, explains the.
This suggests that evolution It is not always a unique way And that sometimes turning back offers the best survival hypothesis.
The discovery has implications that go beyond evolutionary biology. Understand how small genetic adjustments can significantly alter plant chemistry paving the way for advanced genetic engineeringincluding the development of new drugs, increased resistance to pests or the creation of safer and less toxic cultures.
