Posted on 08/07/2025 7:55:18 AM PDT by Red Badger
The modern potato exists thanks to a 9-million-year-old hybrid between tomato-like and potato-like plants. Credit: Shutterstock
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Scientists have finally uncovered the ancient secret behind the potato’s origin—and it involves an unexpected genetic romance.
About 9 million years ago, a wild interbreeding event occurred between a tomato-like plant and a potato-relative in the Andes. This rare hybridization gave rise to the first tuber-forming plants.
Ancient Hybrid Sparked the Potato’s Origins
An international team of scientists has discovered that the modern potato originated from a natural crossbreeding event between tomato plants and potato-like wild species in South America around 9 million years ago.
Their research, published in the journal Cell, points to this ancient genetic mixing as the trigger for the development of the tuber. Tubers are underground plant structures that store nutrients and are found in crops such as potatoes, yams, and taros.
“Our findings show how a hybridization event between species can spark the evolution of new traits, allowing even more species to emerge,” says corresponding author Sanwen Huang of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China. “We’ve finally solved the mystery of where potatoes came from.”
A Crop with Mysterious Roots
Although potatoes are one of the world’s most essential food crops, their evolutionary origin had remained unclear. Interestingly, modern potato plants closely resemble three Chilean species known as Etuberosum, yet those species do not produce tubers. On the other hand, genetic studies show that potatoes are more closely related to tomatoes.
To resolve this puzzle, the researchers examined genetic data from 450 cultivated potato varieties and 56 wild species.
“Wild potatoes are very difficult to sample, so this dataset represents the most comprehensive collection of wild potato genomic data ever analyzed,” says the paper’s first author, Zhiyang Zhang of the Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Non-tuber-bearing and tuber-bearing species of the potato plant. Credit: Yuxin Jia and Pei Wang
A Genetic Fusion Confirmed
They found that every potato species contained a stable, balanced mix of genetic material from both Etuberosum and tomato plants, suggesting that potatoes originated from an ancient hybridization between the two.
While Etuberosum and tomatoes are distinct species, they share a common ancestor that dates back about 14 million years. Even after diverging for about 5 million years, they were able to interbreed and gave rise to the earliest potato plants with tubers around 9 million years ago.
Key Genes From Both Parents
The team also traced the origins of the potato’s key tuber-forming genes, which are a combination of genetic material from each parent. They found the SP6A gene, which acts like a master switch that tells the plant when to start making tubers, came from the tomato side of the family. Another important gene called IT1, which helps control the growth of the underground stems that form tubers, came from the Etuberosum side. Without either piece, the hybrid offspring would be unable to produce tubers.
This evolutionary innovation coincided with the rapid uplift of the Andes Mountains, a period during which new ecological environments were emerging. With a tuber to store nutrients underground, early potatoes were able to quickly adapt to the changing environment, surviving harsh weather in the mountains.
Tubers also enable potato plants to reproduce without the need for seeds or pollination. They grow new plants by simply sprouting from buds on the tuber. This trait helped them to rapidly expand and fill diverse ecological niches, ranging from mild grasslands to high and cold alpine meadows in Central and South America.
A Rapid Expansion and Global Impact
“Evolving a tuber gave potatoes a huge advantage in harsh environments, fueling an explosion of new species and contributing to the rich diversity of potatoes we see and rely on today,” Huang said.
Reference:
"Ancient hybridization underlies tuberization and radiation of the potato lineage”
by Zhiyang Zhang, Pingxian Zhang, Yiyuan Ding, Zefu Wang, Zhaoxu Ma, Edeline Gagnon, Yuxin Jia, Lin Cheng, Zhigui Bao, Zinan Liu, Yaoyao Wu, Yong Hu, Qun Lian, Weichao Lin, Nan Wang, Keyi Ye, Hongru Wang, Jinzhe Zhang, Yongfeng Zhou, Liang Liu, Suhua Li, William J. Lucas, Tiina Särkinen, Sandra Knapp, Loren H. Rieseberg, Jianquan Liu and Sanwen Huang, 31 July 2025, Cell.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.06.034
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No Wonder Boy they sound alike!....You say Potato, I sat Tomato..............
The author Zhiyang Zhang also make a good Bloody Mary mix.
The lowest form of humor is not the pun. It is potato humor.
Three Beautiful Potatoes
Mr and Mrs Potato Head have three beautiful daughters. One night, they’re gathered around the dinner table when the eldest daughter speaks up.
“Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you... I’m getting married!”
Mrs Potato Head looks at her “This is such a surprise! Who is he?”
The eldest daughter smiles “Well, he’s a yam.”
Mr Potato Head nods approvingly “A yam! Yes, yams are sweet taters. I look forward to meeting him...”
But before he can finish, the eldest daughter nudges the middle child and says “You have some news too, don’t you?”
The middle child blushes “Well yes... I’m getting married too!”
Mrs Potato Head is agape “You as well? Who is he?”
The middle child says “Oh he’s wonderful. He works in television! When teams of athletes are playing sports, he talks about what’s going on!”
Mr Potato Head frowns “Oh no, that won’t do at all! That sounds like a *common tater!* You can do better than that!”
But before he can finish, the youngest daughter blurts out “Well if you’re both getting married all of a sudden then I’m going to marry Vladimir Putin!”
Mr Potato Head splutters “Vladimir Putin? You can’t marry Vladimir Putin! He’s a *fascist dick tater!”*
Let the groaning begin.
The only way I’ll eat a tomato is by itself, or as juice, or in pizza, or with salt and balsamic vinegar, or in a sandwich, or stir fried, or with bacon, in tacos, lasagna, soup, salad, salsa, ketchup, and a few other things. Never with ice cream.
You say tomato, I say potato
Fried Green Tomatoes!.....................Good movie, too!..............
I haven’t seen that one yet but I will before I die. Really. Thanks for the reminder.
(He’s been with the world)
I’m tired of the soup du jour
(He’s been with the world)
I wanna end this prophylactic tour
Afraid that no-one around me
Understands my potato
Think I’m only a spud boy
Looking for a real tomato
All Chinese. I will wait for some White westerners to confirm before believing this.
As a result of all that, there would potentially be a lot of tater tots.
“Never with ice cream.”
You are missing out. The first time I went to Thailand, decades ago, we went to Chatuchak market, a giant flea market with all sorts of strange stuff, including food. My girlfriend ordered a tomato milkshake (with ice cream) - something I’d never heard of. I got one to. Not half bad, actually.
Fried Green Tomatoes / Southern style / Hot Mayo Dip
Dont let end of season, unripe tomatoes go to waste. Simplicity itself, they turn out just as described. The perfect summer appetizer, southern classic is super crispy and ready in about 20 minutes.
Ing Notes Spices: I use a simple combination of sea salt, black pepper, Lawry's Seasoned Salt and cayenne pepper--you can omit cayenne.
Hot Mayo Sauce: A must for dipping---use mayo, hot sauce and horseradish. If you prefer milder, adjust the hot sauce to taste. Vegetable oil works best for frying.
In a large shallow bowl combine flour and spices. Whisk or stir to combine and set aside. Use a mandoline to slice each tomato into ¼" pieces (no larger). Lay slices on a large cookie sheet or plate; s/p. Next dredge each slice in flour mixture until coated shaking off the excess. Return to the cookie sheet (or plate) and---important---let sit for 5 minutes. After 5-ish min tomatoes begin to soak up some of the flour mixture. Once this happens, dredge the tomatoes through the flour mixture a second time shaking off the excess. This will help the tomatoes get a nice, even crispy outer layer.
Heat vegetable oil over med heat---oil is an inch deep. Once the oil is shimmering, add your green tomatoes in and fry for 3-5 minutes per side til they are brown and crispy. Once golden liftout to a paper towel lined plate and continue to fry in batches until all the tomatoes are fried. Serve warm with hot mayo dip.
Leftover Storage----best eaten immediately after frying. If you have any leftover, store airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and heat until warm in an air fryer or skillet.
We're lucky it happened so long ago, or the song wouldn't have been about peppermint.
Worst case?
The wizards of Wuhan have discovered time travel...
Potatoes are my favorite food. So yummy! So versatile!
It’s actually possible to graft tomatoes on to potato plants. The plant will yield both tomatoes and potatoes, but less of each than if left alone. It might work in hot weather to keep the tomatoes from wilting in the heat, but I’ve never tried it.
Wow. Just goes to show that you never know until you actually try something.
Ing 4 tbl butter 1/4 c flour 2 1/3 c milk 2 c grated cheese 2 1/2 lb starchy potatoes, peeled, thin-slice
Preheat oven to 350 deg. Grease a square baking dish. Melt butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add flour. Cook/stir 2 min til bubbly. Remove from heat. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until well combined. Return to heat. Cook/stir to the boil. Add 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Stir/combine. Arrange 1/3 potatoes, overlapping slightly, in baking dish. S/p. Spoon 1/3 cheese sauce over. Repeat twice. Sprinkle w/ 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake 1 hour til potatoes are tender and top is golden. If top begins to brown too much, cover with foil.
Notes: A potato bake can be as humble or as grand as you desire. Bacon, onion, leek or fennel can be added. You can swap half the milk for thickened cream and add herbs such as rosemary or fresh thyme. A quick tip: cut a garlic clove in half and run the cut sides over the baking dish before layering the bake. This imparts a subtle garlicky taste. If you want to go all out, try the queen of all potato bakes, tartiflette, which is served in France as a main with a crisp green salad. Some recipes call for sour cream, but you won't need to add any extra cream (allow shredded cheese to bring flavor and a golden brown top). It really is an absolutely delicious side. You can freeze potato bake, with its creamy sauce, for up to three months.
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