Overview

• Published July 31 in Cell, the study confirms that modern potatoes descended from a single hybridization event about nine million years ago between an ancestral tomato relative and a tuberless Etuberosum species.
• Researchers pinpointed SP6A from the tomato lineage and IT1 from the Etuberosum lineage as the two genes whose combination enabled the evolution of starchy underground tubers.
• Analysis of 450 cultivated and 56 wild potato genomes shows a consistent genetic mosaic from both ancestral lineages, supporting a singular ancient origin rather than multiple hybrid events.
• The hybrid speciation coincided with the rapid uplift of the Andes, where tuber formation and asexual reproduction allowed early potatoes to adapt to cold, high-elevation environments and diversify.
• The findings open pathways for using tomato genetics as a synthetic biology chassis to remove deleterious mutations and develop potatoes with enhanced resilience and novel traits.