Random mating between wild tomato plants and potato-like species between 8 to 9 million years ago could have produced one of our favorite carbohydrates: potatoes.
Along with 107 existing wild potato species, the cultivated potatoes (Tuberosum solanum tuberosum) we know today belong to the lineage of petota. New research suggests that this lineage, or a group of closely related species, emerged from mating between the ancestors of the other two lineages. It consists of 17 live species, including the Salad Essential Solanum Laiko Persicum and three live species that live in South America.
“From an evolutionary perspective, we weren’t resolved [disagreement] In relation to the lineage of tomato, petota and et velosum, Sandra Knapp, a research botanist at the Museum of Natural History in London and co-author of the new study, spoke to Live Science in an email.
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He said the importance of mating in this case was that it created new combinations of genes in the petota lineage and produced tubers. The ancestors of modern tomato and etvelosum plants had no tubers. These structures did not appear in either lineage as they were mated to produce hybrids.
“Our findings show that interspecies hybridization events will trigger the evolution of new traits and many more species will emerge,” Sanwen Huang, professor of agricultural genomics at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said in a statement. “We finally solved the mystery of where the potatoes came from.”
Researchers analyzed the genomes of 128 petota, tomato, and genitalis to resolve evolutionary relationships between these lines. They used advanced genomic tools that were previously unavailable and explained why scientists had never achieved these results before, Knapp said. The team released their findings in Journal Cell on Thursday (July 31st).
Related: Two plants randomly bred up to 1 million years ago to produce one of the most popular drinks in the world
The analysis revealed a “mosaic-like” genetic pattern of petota, representing a uniform mixture of DNA inherited from both tomatoes and echuberosum, dating the origin of potatoes with mating events between two strains that ranged from 8 to 9 million years ago.
Research shows that these strains shared the last common ancestor of 13 to 14 million years ago, allowing ancient hybridization events between etuberosam and tomatoes. Despite the independent evolution of this common ancestor after disappearing, the Echuberosam and tomato plants may have had genetically sufficient commonality to mate five million years later.
Potato plants resulting from this match have produced tubers that researchers have linked to several genes. In particular, the team identified SP6A, a gene that came from the tomato lineage but evolved in potatoes, and provided instructions on when to make tubers. Researchers also highlighted the gene IT1, which is involved in tuber formation, which, according to the study, came from the vigorous side.
Tubers helped potato plants conquer new soils when the Andean Mountains were rapidly rising, researchers suggest. Mating “continued to resharing the genes so that new strains produce tubers, allowing these plants to expand into newly created, cold, arid habitats,” Knap said.
The ability of potato plants to store nutrients and water can help them survive in harsher environments than helicol plants and tomato plants. This not only promotes the geographical expansion of potatoes, but also prevents the mating of Echuberosam with tomato plants, allowing petota to evolve into a completely new lineage, according to research.
“Evolving tubers gave potatoes a great advantage in harsh environments, spurring new species explosions, and contributing to the rich diversity of potatoes we see and rely on today,” Huang said.
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