A new study has uncovered the evolutionary origins of the potato, revealing that it was formed through a natural hybridization event between a wild tomato plant and a potato-like species in South America about 9 million years ago. The analysis of 450 genomes from cultivated potatoes and 56 genomes of wild potato species identified two crucial genes involved in tuber formation.
The researchers found that the modern-day potato plant’s scientific name is Solanum tuberosum, with its two parents being plants that were the ancestors of a potato-like species now found in Peru named Etuberosum, which closely resembles the potato plant but lacks a tuber, and the tomato plant. The hybridization event led to the appearance of the nascent potato plant’s tuber, an enlarged structure housing nutrients underground.
According to Sanwen Huang, a genome biologist and plant breeder, potatoes are one of humanity’s most remarkable food staples, combining extraordinary versatility, nutritional value, and cultural ubiquity in ways few crops can match. The study may help guide improved cultivated potato breeding to address environmental challenges that crops presently face due to factors such as climate change.
The findings also raise the possibility of creating a new crop species that could produce tomato fruit above ground and potato tubers below ground using synthetic biology techniques. The potato and tomato are members of the nightshade family of flowering plants, with other tuberous root crops originating in South America belonging to different families.
Source: https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/science-nature/science/20250813-275139