The study, published in the journal New Phytologist, challenges previous thinking by suggesting that fruit-eating animals were not the main driver of fruit evolution in the Solanum genus. Instead, the study highlights the relationship between the evolution of fruit color and size and shows that these traits co-evolved over time.
Advanced phylogenetic analysis including data from 1,786 genes from 247 species provides unprecedented clarity into the evolutionary history of Solanum. The findings could potentially improve breeding programs for agriculturally important plants such as tomatoes and potatoes by using traits from wild relatives to increase crop resilience and productivity.
Source: Ferra
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
