Despite potatoes being a staple food ever since they were cultivated, their actual origins remained unknown even to the farmers who grew them—until now. Thanks to the work of scientists in three countries, 450 genomes from the Petota section of genus Solanum, essentially the potato, and all its wild relatives were compiled. Containing genetic information of over 50 Petota species, it’s the largest data collection of wild potatoes in history.
Scientists have found something intriguing: potatoes and tomatoes appear to have a different relationship than originally thought. Previously, researchers assumed that potatoes and tomatoes had a common ancestor due to genetic similarities, but that’s not the case. In fact, potatoes seem to have about half the genomes tomatoes do, which may be recognized as the genetic relationship a child has to its parents. Shocking! Scientists then developed a theory on what the other parent might be:a species named etuberosum.
In a further study of 128 genomes of all three plants, researchers’ assumptions were proven correct. Potatoes are actually a hybrid child of tomatoes and this mere flowering plant! But just how did these two create the potato? Turns out, it was by some extraordinary genetic luck. What we know as the beloved potato, the tuber part of the plant, is formed through the cooperation of two fundamental genes. SP6A from their lovely tomato parents gave them the ability to form these tubers, and IT1 from etuberosum allowed them to reach massive sizes.
A perfect match indeed. The large tubers of the potato provided it with incredible survivability through energy conservation in numerous environments, and eventually it spread farther than either of its parents could dream. Not even the typical hybrid inability to sexually reproduce could stop the potato, as its tubers are capable of asexually reproducing. Thus, the potatoes have survived and thrived since six to ten million years ago.
This then opens the door for new scientific avenues. Tomatoes and etuberosum had their last common ancestor five million years prior, and yet they succeeded in creating a child, one even more successful than the both of them. Just how far can they take hybridization with this new knowledge of genetic makeup? One scientist suggests a super plant capable of both fruits and tubers, humorously called a “tomtatoe.” Another believes this new knowledge should be used to make plants more adept at one thing rather than spreading out their abilities.
Either way, the potato will benefit. With recent centuries of human cultivation, the domesticated potato has lost parts of its adaptability that made it so widespread in the past. Now, scientists hope they can reintroduce older genes to the crop and make it even better. It must be hard to imagine an even better potato, but now is a good time to get started!
