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A new study has found how a rose and other plants like a tomato and eggplant came to get their prickles. The discovery could help engineer new thorn-free variants.

Prickles and thorns are an evolved defense against herbivores — animals that eat plants — and can also aid in growth, plant competition and water retention, according to the study.

Roses and other thorny plants, particularly their stems and the thorns themselves, take a much longer time to break down than other plant materials, if they even decompose at all.

Lonely Guy genes By removing prickles from various species, including roses and eggplants, the authors found that a LOG gene was responsible for the prickles in about 20 types of plants studied.

Lonely Guy genes By removing prickles from various species, including roses and eggplants, the authors found that a LOG gene was responsible for the prickles in about 20 types of plants studied.