Posted June 24, 2025
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside say tomatoes on the younger, black rock islands of the Galápagos archipelago are evolving. The photograph shows de-evolved tomato species from the Galápagos.
These tomato plants lose millions of years of evolution and revert to a more primitive genetic state. This condition revives ancient chemical defenses. It includes a toxic molecular cocktail not seen in millions of years, one that resembles compounds found in eggplant, not the modern tomato.
The researchers analyzed more than 30 tomato samples collected from different geographical locations across the islands. The tomato plant survey revealed a striking pattern. Tomatoes on older, more stable eastern islands have modern tomato chemistry, while those on the harsher, barren western islands have revived their ancestral defenses. The researchers suspect that these revived alkaloids provide better protection in harsh conditions. This shows how changing environments can reopen evolutionary dead ends. The researchers found that the switch to the ancient defense hinges on just four amino acid adjustments in a single enzyme.
Dr. Adam Jozwiak, the molecular biochemist from the University of California, Riverside, says: “If you change just a few amino acids, you can get a completely different molecule. That knowledge can help us engineer new drugs, design better resistance to pests, or even make less toxic products.”
The concept is controversial and Jozwiak says, “Some people don’t believe this. But the genetic and chemical evidence points to a return to an ancestral state. The mechanism is there. It happened.”
He also says that it could happen to humans: “I think it could happen to humans, it wouldn’t happen in a year or two, but over time, maybe if the environmental conditions change enough.”
The research was published in the journal, Nature communication.
Photo: Adam Jozwiak
