You say tomato, these scientists say evolutionary mystery sciencedaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sciencedaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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. The research, represented by a pair of papers recently published in Plants People Planet and The American Journal of Botany, 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.