{"id":15122,"date":"2025-07-01T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=15122"},"modified":"2025-06-27T05:29:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:29:31","slug":"galapagos-tomatoes-reverse-evolution-july-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/galapagos-tomatoes-reverse-evolution-july-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Study finds wild Gal\u00e1pagos tomatoes resurrecting ancient chemical defenses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-gray-200-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 id=\"at-a-glance\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">At a Glance<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Scientists have identified a crucial enzyme called GAME8 that controls the production of unique chemical defenses within the entire nightshade family, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">This single enzyme functions as a molecular switch, determining the three-dimensional shape of defensive alkaloids by creating distinct mirror-image versions known as the 25S or 25R isomers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Evolutionary analysis suggests an ancient gene duplication event created a spare copy of the enzyme, which then mutated over time to produce the new tomato-type chemical defense compound.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The original ancestral enzyme produced a specific chemical form that is still found in eggplants, while the newer version evolved in more recent species, such as the modern cultivated tomato.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Researchers found compelling evidence of reverse evolution, where wild Gal\u00e1pagos tomatoes have mutated to produce the more ancient version of the defensive alkaloid chemical once again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Plants in the nightshade family, known to scientists as <em>Solanaceae<\/em>, produce a formidable chemical arsenal to defend themselves from pests and disease. These compounds, called steroidal alkaloids, are responsible for the bitter taste that deters predators. For years, a key question has been why different plants, such as tomatoes and eggplants, produce structurally distinct versions of these compounds. New research has uncovered the molecular machinery behind this diversity, revealing an evolutionary story of genetic duplication, adaptation, and even reversal. The findings, published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-025-59290-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Nature Communications<\/em><\/a>, highlight how a single enzyme has shaped the chemical defenses across one of the world\u2019s most important plant families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/tomatoes-in-the-galpag.jpg\" ><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A cluster of wild Gal\u00e1pagos tomatoes (<em>Solanum cheesmaniae<\/em>). A new study reveals that some populations of this species have undergone a form of reverse evolution, resurrecting an ancient chemical defense system that their modern relatives have lost. (Jozwiak\/UCR, 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">At the heart of this chemical diversity is a concept known as stereochemistry, which describes the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in a molecule. Two molecules can be made of the same atoms but exist as mirror images of each other, known as isomers, much like a person\u2019s left and right hands. In nightshades, these alkaloids come in two primary forms: the tomato-type (25S) and the eggplant-type (25R). Scientists discovered that an enzyme from a class known as cytochrome P450 hydroxylases, specifically one named GLYCOALKALOID METABOLISM 8 (GAME8), is responsible for determining which isomer a plant produces. This single enzyme acts as a molecular switch, locking the alkaloid into either its \u201cleft-handed\u201d or \u201cright-handed\u201d form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">To understand how this switch evolved, researchers conducted a phylogenetic analysis, essentially building a molecular family tree for the GAME8 gene across dozens of nightshade species. The analysis revealed that the ancestral version of the enzyme likely produced the 25R eggplant-type isomer. Later in the evolutionary history of the <em>Solanum<\/em> genus, a crucial event called gene duplication occurred, creating a spare copy of the GAME8 gene. This new copy was free to mutate and evolve a new function, eventually giving rise to the 25S-producing enzyme found in modern tomatoes. In some species, such as black nightshade, multiple copies of the GAME8 gene exist, allowing them to produce a mix of both isomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/tomatoes-in-the-galpag-1.jpg\" ><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A tomato plant produces the standard, modern defensive alkaloids found in most current varieties. The study contrasts this chemical profile with that of wild Gal\u00e1pagos tomatoes, which have reverted to producing an ancient, ancestral form of the compound. (Jozwiak\/UCR, 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Remarkably, the study also found evidence of reverse evolution in action. In wild tomatoes (<em>S. cheesmaniae<\/em>) from the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands, scientists discovered that mutations in the modern GAME8 enzyme have caused it to revert to producing the ancestral 25R alkaloid. This change suggests that environmental pressures on the islands may favor the ancient chemical defense, driving the plants to re-evolve a trait that was lost millions of years ago. These findings illustrate the complex and dynamic interplay between an enzyme\u2019s function, genetic change, and evolutionary adaptation, providing a clear example of how evolution is not always a one-way street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"references\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Bernstein, J. &amp; University of California- Riverside. (2025, June 24). <em>Tomatoes in the Gal\u00e1pagos are quietly de-evolving<\/em>. Phys.Org; University of California- Riverside. <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-06-tomatoes-galpagos-quietly-de-evolving.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-06-tomatoes-galpagos-quietly-de-evolving.html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Jozwiak, A., Almaria, M., Cai, J., Panda, S., Price, H., Vunsh, R., Pliner, M., Meir, S., Rogachev, I., &amp; Aharoni, A. (2025). Enzymatic twists evolved stereo-divergent alkaloids in the Solanaceae family. <em>Nature Communications<\/em>, <em>16<\/em>(1), 5341. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-025-59290-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-025-59290-4<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New research reveals how a single enzyme acts as a molecular switch to create distinct chemical defenses in plants, such as tomatoes and eggplants, even driving evolution in reverse.\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/4\/42\/Galapagos_tomato_blossoms_%28Solanum_galapagense%29.jpg\/2560px-Galapagos_tomato_blossoms_%28Solanum_galapagense%29.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[13805,1104,13795,13794,13808,3314,13797,13790,13798,13799,13806,13803,13802,13804,3312,13800,13793,13791,13801,13796,13792,13807],"class_list":{"0":"post-15122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nature","8":"tag-alkaloid-biosynthesis","9":"tag-biochemistry","10":"tag-chemical-defense","11":"tag-cytochrome-p450","12":"tag-enzyme-function","13":"tag-evolutionary-biology","14":"tag-galapagos-islands","15":"tag-game8","16":"tag-gene-duplication","17":"tag-isomers","18":"tag-molecular-switch","19":"tag-nightshade-family","20":"tag-phylogenetic-analysis","21":"tag-plant-adaptation","22":"tag-plant-evolution","23":"tag-plant-genetics","24":"tag-reverse-evolution","25":"tag-solanaceae","26":"tag-solanum-cheesmaniae","27":"tag-stereochemistry","28":"tag-steroidal-alkaloids","29":"tag-wild-tomatoes","30":"cs-entry","31":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15122"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15126,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15122\/revisions\/15126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}