Did you know? The potato evolved from the tomato 9 million years ago!

The origin of the potato, an essential ingredient of many recipes, has long intrigued scientists. Similarly, The reason: Its current plants are almost identical to those of three species of etuberosumwhich, however, does not produce tubers. For example,

The key factor in the emergence of potato as we know it was recently discovered in a study published. Nevertheless, in the journal Cellwhich confirms that The potato is closely linked to the tomato.

A unique combination of factors

The mystery was resolved after a series of genomic. Meanwhile, functional analyzes relating to 450 cultivated potato genomes and 56 genomes of wild species. Moreover, Their results have shown that The potato contains a stable. Meanwhile, balanced mixture of genetic material from both etuberosum and tomatoes. However, This suggests that the potato comes from an old hybridization did you know? potato evolved between the two.

Although the etuberosum. the tomato are distinct species, the study indicates thatThey shared a common ancestor about 14 million years agobut that they have managed to cross that around 9 million years ago, giving birth to potato plants with tubers.

At that time, the Andes Cordillera rose, creating new environments and climatic conditions, including high altitude cold areas. In this context. the capacity of the potato to form underground tubers was essential: it allowed it to store nutrients, to survive in difficult conditions and to reproduce without seeds.

“The development of a tuber has given the potato a considerable advantage in difficult did you know? potato evolved environments. promoting an explosion of new species and contributing to the rich diversity of potatoes That we know and on which we depend today, “said Sanwen Huang, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and co-author of the study, in a press release.

The tuber. in addition to storing nutrients, allows the plant to reproduce from its bourgeons without pollinationwhich facilitated its spread in various ecosystems, from temperate meadows to cold alpine meadows from Central America and South America.

Genetics behind the tubers

“Our results show how a hybridization event between species can lead to the evolution of new featuresallowing the emergence of even more species. ”said the researcher.

According to the analysis, the Etuberosum contributed to around 60 % of DNA, and the tomato to around 40 %. A gene called SP6A. brought by the line of the tomato, acts as a “main switch” which indicates to the plant when starting to form tubers.

The Etuberosum line provides the IT1 gene, which regulates the growth of the underground rods giving birth to the tubers. Without this combination, the potato would not exist.

In addition to the discovery of the origin of the potato. the large number of specimens analyzed provides a new database for research. “Wild potatoes being very difficult to sample. This data set represents the most complete collection of genomic data on the wild potato ever analyzed “Said Zhiyang Zhang, of the Institut de Génomique Agricole de Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

References of did you know? potato evolved the news:

– article in Cell : Old hybridization is the basis of tuberization. radiation of the potato line.

– Press release from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.