By: Toshita Sahni
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Potatoes and tomatoes are closer to each other than we thought! A recent study found that potatoes evolved from a tomato-like ancestor millions of years ago.
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Published in Cell in July 2025, the research changes how we understand the potato's past as well as plant evolution itself.
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About 9 million years ago, a wild tomato hybridised with a plant called Etuberosum, which led to the birth of the potato family.
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This natural cross-breeding led to a new lineage called “Petota”, which includes today's cultivated potatoes and over 100 wild relatives.
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Scientists analysed the DNA of hundreds of species to trace this unlikely origin story hidden in their genetic makeup.
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Neither the tomato nor Etuberosum could form tubers. But their hybrid offspring could, thanks to two key genes: SP6A (from tomato) and IT1 (from Etuberosum).
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Tubers helped the plant survive cold, dry, high-altitude conditions by storing water and nutrients underground.
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This adaptation happened around the time the Andes mountains were rising, reshaping South America's climate and terrain.
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Over time, this new potato lineage spread and evolved into diverse wild forms across the Andes and beyond.
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Centuries later, farmers domesticated some of these wild species, giving us the potato we eat today.
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To learn about the history of samosa
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