 "Why do roses have thorns? The science explained")
Canadian philosopher Matshona Dhliwayo has famously said, “If you love a rose, you have to love its thorns too.”
Not only do roses have these spiky traits, but so do other flowers, such as spider flowers, and crop plants like tomatoes, eggplants, barley, and rice.
What gives them these sharp spikes, though?
The origin of these variations may be traced back to a single ancient gene family, as per a recent study that was published on Thursday in the Science journal.
Let’s take a look.
Roses and thorns
In contrast to common lore, roses do not have thorns.
Instead, they have prickles that appear from the plant’s skin in a process akin to hair growth.
Prickles are an astounding instance of evolution repeating itself.
They have existed since the emergence of ferns and related species, some of which had prickles on their stems, at least 400 million years ago, according to The New York Times. They have now undergone 28 separate evolutionary cycles.
Some roses have prickles on their stems, while other plants have them on their leaves or fruits.
Pricks originally appeared six million years ago in the Solanum plant genera, which are among the most diverse and comprise crops like potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants.
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More ShortsCurrently, it includes over a thousand species that can be found all over the world. About 400 of them are commonly known as “spiny solanum.”
According to CNN, convergent evolution is the process by which species adapt similarly to particular environmental requirements.
An example of this is when a common characteristic, like prickles, emerges separately across various lineages and species.
As per the report, Lippman said wings are another example of a trait that evolved in this similar manner among several bird species and other creatures like bats and even some types of squirrels that have a wing-like shape.
The study also stated that thorns and spines are an evolved defence against herbivores, or animals that consume plants. They can also help with growth, plant competition, and water retention.
The gene responsible for prickles
According to the study’s authors, the prickles trait has been turned on and off in many animals over millions of years by an ancient gene family called Lonely Guy, or LOG.
Lippman says LOG-related genes can be identified in all plants, even mosses, which are believed to be the ancestors of dry-land plants.
The genes are in charge of triggering the hormone cytokinin, which is critical for many fundamental cellular processes in plants, such as cell division and expansion, which ultimately impact the plant’s growth.
“It’s not that there was one common ancestor that had prickles, and then it radiated out over 400 million years to all these others, and then they were lost sporadically. In fact, what it looks like is that they seem to be quite readily gained in different lineages. Now, the question is, how often is convergent evolution not just the trait that we see, but the genes behind the trait?” Lippman said, according to CNN.
He added, “Our study is, I think probably the first to really demonstrate the power of those tools (genetic and genome sequencing) to span such a wide evolutionary distance to ask this very classic question about convergent evolution in organismal evolution of plants or animals.”
Ways to remove prickles
There are rose species without spikes today because, prior to this discovery, one way to get rid of prickles from plants was to try to crossbreed the plant with a variant that had naturally lost its prickles, according to Lippman.
Prick removal could facilitate harvesting and open the door for lesser-known food.
The berries known as “desert raisins,” which are native to Australia and grow on prickly bushes, are one example given by the authors, as per the report.
According to Lippman, removing the prickles would make cultivating the fruit much easier and make it more like regular grocery store berries like blueberries and strawberries.
“It’s really about having more knowledge… and understanding how important mutations were to give us the food that we eat at the scale that we eat it, and knowing that there’s more potential out there. The more that we understand under the hood, the more we’re going to have a chance to tweak the system, or the engine, if you will, to make it perform even better,” Lippman said.
One other method to remove prickles, according to Tyler Coverdale, an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame who was not part of the new study, is using genome editing techniques such as CRISPR.
The method is used by scientists who use it for DNA modification in living organisms.
He told CNN that targeted gene editing can create more variations with ease and has fewer repercussions to the plant’s growth.
With inputs from agencies
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