Speculative Species

In Speculative Evolution, we envisioned how species could be further developed to increase their resilience based on scientific publications on synthetic biology, genetic engineering and robotics, and formulated text prompts to create AI-generated images using DALL-E. As a result, each speculative species in the environment has a backstory rooted in real-life scenarios.
 
 


Tomato
Tomato
2008genetically modified to be color and health-promoting anthocyanins
International trade by Butelli et al., 2008
20541

Lineage of the 128 species from a total of 175

    • Tomato, Species 57-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Zurich, Switzerland (57-1)
      • Tomato, Species 57-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Stuttgart, Germany (57-1-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Stuttgart, Germany (57-1-1-1)
          • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1, Android 13, Maceió, Brazil (57-1-1-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G960F, Android 10, Bolton, United Kingdom (57-1-1-1-1-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung T720, Android 11, Del Viso, Argentina (57-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1, Android 11, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                  • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1, Android 11, Gomez Palacio, Mexico (57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                  • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2Samsung A146M, Android 13, São Paulo, Brazil (57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2)
                    • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1)
                      • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1-1)
                        • Tomato, Species 57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1-1-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-12Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-12)
      • Tomato, Species 57-12-1Nokia, Android 14, Lausanne, Switzerland (57-12-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-12-1-1Nokia, Android 14, Lausanne, Switzerland (57-12-1-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-13Samsung A325M, Android 13, Bahía Blanca, Argentina (57-13)
      • Tomato, Species 57-13-1Samsung A325M, Android 13, Bahía Blanca, Argentina (57-13-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-13-1-1Samsung A325M, Android 13, Bahía Blanca, Argentina (57-13-1-1)
          • Tomato, Species 57-13-1-1-1Samsung A325M, Android 13, Bahía Blanca, Argentina (57-13-1-1-1)
          • Tomato, Species 57-13-1-1-2Samsung A325M, Android 13, Bahía Blanca, Argentina (57-13-1-1-2)
            • Tomato, Species 57-13-1-1-2-1Samsung A325M, Android 13, Bahía Blanca, Argentina (57-13-1-1-2-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-13-1-1-2-1-1Samsung A325M, Android 13, Bahía Blanca, Argentina (57-13-1-1-2-1-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-2, Android 12, Palo Alto, United States (57-2)
      • Tomato, Species 57-2-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Stuttgart, Germany (57-2-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-1, Android 13, Statesville, United States (57-2-1-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-2Samsung G9980, Android 12, Tokyo, Japan (57-2-1-2)
        • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-3Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-2-1-3)
          • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-3-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-2-1-3-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-3-1-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-2-1-3-1-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-3-1-1-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-2-1-3-1-1-1)
                • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-3-1-1-1-1Huawei BTK, Android 12, Surabaya, Indonesia (57-2-1-3-1-1-1-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-3-1-1-2Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-2-1-3-1-1-2)
                • Tomato, Species 57-2-1-3-1-1-2-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-2-1-3-1-1-2-1)
      • Tomato, Species 57-2-2, Android 12, Milan, Italy (57-2-2)
    • Tomato, Species 57-26Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-26)
      • Tomato, Species 57-26-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-26-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-3Samsung G955F, Android 9, Stuttgart, Germany (57-3)
      • Tomato, Species 57-3-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-3-1)
      • Tomato, Species 57-3-2Samsung A146M, Android 13, São Paulo, Brazil (57-3-2)
      • Tomato, Species 57-3-3Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-3-3)
    • Tomato, Species 57-36Samsung G955U, Android 9, Xi'an, China (57-36)
      • Tomato, Species 57-36-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Xi'an, China (57-36-1)
      • Tomato, Species 57-36-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, Xi'an, China (57-36-2)
    • Tomato, Species 57-37Samsung G955U, Android 9, Xi'an, China (57-37)
      • Tomato, Species 57-37-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Xi'an, China (57-37-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-4Samsung A325F, Android 13, Ankara, Türkiye (57-4)
      • Tomato, Species 57-4-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Berlin, Germany (57-4-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-1Samsung A546E, Android 14, São Paulo, Brazil (57-4-1-1)
          • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-1-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-4-1-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-1-1-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-4-1-1-1-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-4-1-1-1-1-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-1-1-1-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-4-1-1-1-1-2)
              • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-1-1-1-3Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-4-1-1-1-1-3)
            • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-1-1-2Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-4-1-1-1-2)
        • Tomato, Species 57-4-1-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-4-1-2)
    • Tomato, Species 57-5Huawei CAM, Android 6.0, Quito, Ecuador (57-5)
      • Tomato, Species 57-5-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-5-1)
      • Tomato, Species 57-5-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-5-2)
    • Tomato, Species 57-6Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-6)
      • Tomato, Species 57-6-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-6-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-7Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-7)
      • Tomato, Species 57-7-1Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-7-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-1Samsung A155M, Android 14, São Paulo, Brazil (57-7-1-1)
          • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-1-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-1-1-1-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-7-1-2)
          • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-2-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-7-1-2-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-3Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-7-1-3)
          • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-3-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-7-1-3-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-7-1-3-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-7-1-3-1-1)
      • Tomato, Species 57-7-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-7-2)
        • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-7-2-1)
          • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-1-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-7-2-1-1-1-1)
                • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1)
                  • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                    • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                      • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                        • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-1-2Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-1-2)
          • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-2Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-7-2-1-2)
            • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-2-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-2-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-2-2Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-2-2)
              • Tomato, Species 57-7-2-1-2-2-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-7-2-1-2-2-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-8Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-8)
      • Tomato, Species 57-8-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-8-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-8-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-8-1-1)
    • Tomato, Species 57-9Samsung G950F, Android 9, São Paulo, Brazil (57-9)
      • Tomato, Species 57-9-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-9-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, Basel, Switzerland (57-9-1-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-9-1-2)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-1Samsung G975F, Android 12, Leipzig, Germany (57-9-1-2-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-9-1-2-1-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-1-1-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-9-1-2-1-1-1)
                • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-1-1-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-2-1-1-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-1-2Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-2-1-2)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-9-1-2-2)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-3Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-2-3)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-4Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-2-4)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-4-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-2-4-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-4-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-9-1-2-4-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-2-4-2Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-2-4-2)
        • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3Samsung G955F, Android 9, Limassol, Cyprus (57-9-1-3)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1Samsung G955U, Android 9, , China (57-9-1-3-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-1-1)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-2Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-1-2)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-3Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-1-3)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-4Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-1-4)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-5Samsung G955U, Android 9, Xi'an, China (57-9-1-3-1-5)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-6Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-1-6)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-7Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-1-7)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-1-8Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-1-8)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-2Samsung G955U, Android 9, Xi'an, China (57-9-1-3-2)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-2-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-2-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-2-1-1Samsung A055M, Android 14, Buenos Aires, Argentina (57-9-1-3-2-1-1)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-3Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-3)
            • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-3-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-3-3-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-3-3-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-9-1-3-3-1-1)
        • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-4)
          • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4-1Samsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-4-1)
            • TomatoSamsung G955F, Android 9, Lucerne, Switzerland (57-9-1-4-1)
              • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4-1-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-9-1-4-1-1-1)
                • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1)
                  • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1Samsung A156M, Android 14, Camaragibe, Brazil (57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1)
                    • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung A536B, Android 14, Warsaw, Poland (57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                      • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)
                        • Tomato, Species 57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1Samsung G986U1, Android 13, Monterrey, Mexico (57-9-1-4-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)

Enrichment of tomato fruit with health-promoting anthocyanins by expression of select transcription factors

Butelli E, Titta L, Giorgio M, Mock HP, Matros A, Peterek S, Schijlen EG, Hall RD, Bovy AG, Luo J, Martin C. Nat Biotechnol. 2008 Nov;26(11):1301-8. doi: 10.1038/nbt.1506. Epub 2008 Oct 26. PMID: 18953354.
https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.1506

Abstract

Dietary consumption of anthocyanins, a class of pigments produced by higher plants, has been associated with protection against a broad range of human diseases. However, anthocyanin levels in the most commonly eaten fruits and vegetables may be inadequate to confer optimal benefits. When we expressed two transcription factors from snapdragon in tomato, the fruit of the plants accumulated anthocyanins at levels substantially higher than previously reported for efforts to engineer anthocyanin accumulation in tomato and at concentrations comparable to the anthocyanin levels found in blackberries and blueberries. Expression of the two transgenes enhanced the hydrophilic antioxidant capacity of tomato fruit threefold and resulted in fruit with intense purple coloration in both peel and flesh. In a pilot test, cancer-susceptible Trp53(-/-) mice fed a diet supplemented with the high-anthocyanin tomatoes showed a significant extension of life span.
Fruit-specific phenotypes of T1 generation tomatoes (cv. MicroTom) expressing both Del and Ros1 under the control of the E8 promoter. (a) Map of T-DNA region of the binary vector used for transformation. LB, left T-DNA border region; RB, right T-DNA border region; Kan r , nptII gene conferring kanamycin resistance under the control of the nos promoter; cmv3¢, terminator region of cauliflower mosaic virus. (b) Phenotypic analysis of wild-type (upper row), Del/Ros1C (middle) and Del/Ros1N (lower) tomato fruit harvested at the green (left column), breaker (middle) and red (right) ripening stages. (c) Del/Ros1N tomato plant showing fruit at different stages of ripening. (d) Whole and cross-section of ripe wild-type and Del/Ros1N tomato fruit. All scale bars, 2 cm.
Expression of Del and Ros1 causes the upregulation of genes required for anthocyanin biosynthesis and results in increased PAL activity and higher total antioxidant capacity. (a) Northern blots showing the differential expression of several anthocyanin biosynthetic genes identified by suppression subtractive hybridization. (b) Schematic representation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway. Flavonoid classes relevant to this article are shown in boxes. Yellow box, flavonols; purple box, anthocyanins; PAL, phenylalanine ammonia lyase; 4CL, 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase; C4H, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase; C3H, 4-coumarate 3-hydroxylase; CHS, chalcone synthase; CHI, chalcone isomerase; F3H, flavanone-3-hydroxylase; F3¢H, flavonoid-3¢-hydroxylase; F3¢5¢H, flavonoid-3¢5¢-hydroxylase; FLS, flavonol synthase; DFR, dihydroflavonol reductase; ANS, anthocyanidin synthase; 3-GT, flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase; RT, flavonoid 3-O-glucoside-rhamnosyltransferase AAC, anthocyanin acyltransferase; 5-GT, flavonoid-5-glucosyltransferase; GST, glutathione S-transferase; PAT, putative anthocyanin transporter. PAT and GST may be involved in transport of anthocyanins into the vacuole (purple circle). X, acyl group on the 3-glucoside moiety of the anthocyanin. (c) Analysis of specific PAL activity in ripe tomato fruit from wild-type and transgenic lines Del/Ros1C and Del/Ros1N. Histograms represent mean values ± s.d. of separate measurements (n ¼ 3). Results were confirmed in two additional independent experiments. (d) Analysis of hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activity in ripe tomato fruit from wild-type and transgenic lines Del/Ros1C and Del/Ros1N. Data represent mean values ± s.d. and are derived from at least seven tomatoes per plant.