Pope is one of the basic foods in the world. It was cultivated for the first time thousands of years ago in the Andean region of South America and extended throughout the world from the 16th century. But, despite its importance for humanity, its evolutionary origins remained an enigma, until now.
A new analysis of 450 cultured potato genomes and 56 genoma genomes of wild potatoes has revealed that the potato lineage originated through natural miscegenation between a wild tomato plant and a species similar to potatoes in South America about 9 million years ago.
Hybridization resulted in the appearance of the tuber of the nascent potatoes, an enlarged structure that houses nutrients underground, according to the researchers, who also identified two crucial genes involved in the formation of the tuber. Although in the tomato plant the edible part is the fruit, in that of the potato is the tuber.
“Popes are one of the most extraordinary basic foods of humanity, since they combine a versatility, an extraordinary nutritional value and cultural ubiquity that few crops can match,” said Sanwen Huang, a genomic and fitomejorer biologist of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and main author of the study published on Friday in Cell magazine.
“People eat potatoes using virtually all culinary methods: baked, roasted, boiled, steamed and fried. Despite being stereotyped as carbohydrates, potatoes offer vitamin C, potassium, fiber and resistant starch, and are naturally gluten without fat, low fat and satiating – a source of calories rich in nutrients,” Huang added.
Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine and fermented in the bulk, feeding the beneficial bacteria of the intestine.
The scientific name of the modern potato is Solanum tuberosum. Its two parents identified in the study were ancestored plants of a species similar to the potato that is now in Peru, called Etuberosum, which looks a lot like the potato but lacks tuber, and the tomato plant.
These two plants shared a common ancestor that lived about 14 million years ago, and could cross naturally when fortuitous hybridization took place five million years after they diverged one of the other.
“This event resulted in a reorganization of genes such that the new lineage produced tubers, which allowed these plants to expand through cold and dry habitats freshly created in the mountain chain of the Andes,” explains the Botany Sandra Knapp, of the London’s Natural History Museum, co -author of the study.
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Scientists reveal the evolutionary origin of the potato and how the tomato had a role
Hybridization coincided with the rapid elevation of the Andes. With a tuber, the potato plant was able to adapt to the changing regional environment and prosper in the harsh conditions of the mountains.
“Tubers can store nutrients to adapt to cold and allow asexual reproduction to face the challenge of reduced fertility in cold conditions. This allowed the plant to survive and expand quickly,” says Huang.
Study findings, according to researchers, can help guide the improvement of potato cultivation to address the environmental challenges that crops are currently facing due to factors such as climate change.
There are currently about 5,000 potato varieties. Pope is the third most important food crop in the world, after rice and wheat, for human consumption, according to the International Center Research Organization of Pope, which has its headquarters in Peru. China is the world’s world producer.
“It is always difficult to eliminate all the deleterious mutations of the potato genomes in the crop, and this study opens a new door to make a dad -free of deleterious mutations using tomato as a chassis of synthetic biology,” said Huang.
According to Zhiyang Zhang, postdoctoral researcher of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the study can also open the door to the creation of a new species of cultivation that produces tomato fruits on the surface and potato tubers in the subsoil.
Pope and tomato belong to the Solanáceas family, which also includes tobacco and pepper, among others. The study did not investigate the evolutionary origins of other tubers from South America, such as the sweet potato and cassava, which belong to different families with flowers.
While the parts of the tomato and the potato that are eaten are very different, the plants themselves are very similar.
“We use different parts of these two species: fruits in tomato and tubers in the potato,” explains Knapp. “If we look at flowers or leaves, they are very similar. And if you are lucky enough for your Papa plant to produce fruits, they resemble small green tomatoes. But do not eat them. They are not very pleasant.”
With Reuters information.
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