Potato’s Origins Traced to an Unlikely Ancient Plant Pairing   

• The potato, a staple in diets worldwide, may owe its existence to an unexpected pairing, scientists say. A global research team led by Sanwen Huang, president of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, pinpointed the crop’s origins to a rare hybridization between a tomato ancestor and a little-known potato-like plant called Etuberosum. Published July 31 in Cell, the study analyzed 450 genomes from wild and cultivated potato species. Researchers traced the genetic history back roughly 9 million years, when the tomato’s SP6A gene, which controls tuber formation, combined with Etuberosum’s IT1 gene, responsible for underground stem growth. Together, the genes created a plant capable of storing nutrients below ground. This adaptation likely proved crucial as the Andes Mountains rose and climates grew harsher. Potatoes could endure the cold, thrive in poor soils, and reproduce rapidly, since each tuber could sprout a new plant without seeds. Researchers note that this genetic innovation laid the foundation for the vast diversity of potatoes we see today, a crop that now sustains diets, agriculture, and economies across the globe. J.K. Park Staff Reporter junior/1756433565/1613368089