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GalFisk OP t1_j4za39o wrote

Reply to comment by DaylightsStories in What does the ricin molecule do in the castor bean? by GalFisk

Thanks. I'm curious as to how it did evolve, and what it was before it became such a deadly toxin. But all research i can find has gone into what it does to humans and animals.

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DaylightsStories t1_j4zxl2r wrote

I suspect it was probably a less deadly toxin beforehand(given that the family castor is in, Euphorbiaceae, are notoriously likely to be poisonous) although the subject of plant evolution in general is poorly studied and I would not be surprised if this has never been looked into.

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almostbig t1_j500s6z wrote

it has, but not really surprisingly the answer is:
1 - plant make protein for defense

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2 - plant happy

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3 - Florida or whatever happens randomly

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4 - Ricin

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