Biologists have found evidence for evolutionary 'syndromes'-- sets of traits that occur together -- that help to explain how tomatoes first evolved their distinctive blend of color, sweetness, acidity and aroma. The research not only shines a light on how fruits evolve in the wild, but will also be valuable to crop-improvement efforts aimed at breeding more nutritious and appealing varieties of fruits.
Biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have found evidence for evolutionary"syndromes" -- sets of traits that occur together -- that help to explain how tomatoes first evolved their distinctive blend of color, sweetness, acidity and aroma.
Barnett and his co-authors, including Ana Caicedo, professor of biology at UMass Amherst, turned to the relatives of our modern tomatoes, a group of several wild species growing in the western coast of South America, from Chile to Ecuador, to explore this question. And those wild species are nothing like what you'd find in your sandwich or salad today.
So how did we get from a tiny, green, terrible-tasting, melon-smelling fruit to the sublime blend of color, sweetness, acidity and umami that makes tomatoes so beloved in pasta sauces, salads and pizzas? "These two studies are the first to look at fruit traits across all species in the entire tomato group," says Caicedo."We have been able to tell a comprehensive story of how wild tomatoes compare to each other and to our modern, cultivated varieties."
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