DAILY GALAXY - In an unexpected discovery, researchers have found that wild tomatoes in the Galápagos Islands seem to be evolving in reverse. This fascinating phenomenon, previously thought to be rare, suggests that evolution isn’t always a straightforward process. The finding, which challenges conventional wisdom, could lead to exciting breakthroughs in genetic research.
Tomatoes Turning Back Time on the Galápagos
A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have uncovered a surprising case of evolutionary reversal in wild tomatoes. This study, published in Nature Communications, focused on two tomato species, Solanum cheesmaniae and Solanum galapagense, both native to the Galápagos Islands. Researchers observed that these plants, particularly those from the western islands, were reverting to ancestral traits that had been lost millions of years ago.