Potatoes come from tomatoes 9 million years ago

Potatoes appear to be the distant cousin of tomatoes, but new research shows that their relatives are closer than anyone else.

According to the post cellthe origin of every potato on Earth is attributed to the natural interspecies romance between tomato plants about 9 million years ago and wild South American relatives. Not only did this mixed-match offspring survive, but it also developed the ability to change the game to form tubers, a feature that helped potatoes thrive in the harsh mountain climate and diversify into more than 100 species of wildlife. This evolutionary mashup ultimately led to one of the most important food crops in the world.

The mixed lineage behind the tuber traits

For decades, scientists have been confused by the contradictions in the family history of potatoes. Cultivated potatoes belong to the Petota lineage, which is almost the same as a group of Chilean plants called Etuberosum. However, the etuborosum species does not form tubers, which is the underground nutritional organ that defines potatoes. At the same time, genetic studies have always shown that potatoes are more closely related to tuberculosis without pulmonary tract compared to tomatoes.

To crack the case, researchers led by Sanwen Huang of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences analyzed 450 genomes from wild and growing potatoes. They found a consistent pattern: All potato species have stable genes, from etuberosum and tomato plants. The only explanation? Ancient hybridization between two lineages.

The main findings of the study:

• About 9 million years ago, potatoes came from a mixture of tomato and etuberosum lineages
• The key genes for tubers come from parents: SP6A From tomatoes, IT1 From etuberosum
• The nodules make the new hybrid thriv in the Andes during the uplift of the fast mountain
• This innovation enables asexual reproduction and survival in cold, dry environments
• The resulting lineage is divided into more than 100 species of wild horses in South and Central America

How hybrids inspire crop empires

So, what makes this ancient hybrid so successful? It all comes down to tubers. Nodules allow early potatoes to survive by storing energy underground and reproduction without relying on seeds or pollination. From an ecological perspective, this is a superpower. With the advent of the Andes roses and new environments, potatoes quickly spread in alpine meadows, grasslands and dry forests, neither their tomatoes nor Iduburg ancestors were able to reach.

“The growing tubers have brought huge advantages to potatoes in harsh environments, fueling the explosion of new species and promoting the potato diversity we see and rely on today,” Huang said.

Genetic mixture behind tubers

The study also traces the origin of the tubers to a unique combination of parental genes. this SP6A Gene tells the plant when it starts to form tubers, which comes from the tomato side. this IT1 Gene that helps to form underground stems comes from Etuberosum. Neither species have all the necessary items. Only in hybrids do they gather together and then the tubers are formed.

Further genetic analysis shows that this is more than just a fluorine. Many other tubers-related genes are selectively inherited from one parent or another, forming mosaics of regulatory pathways. Through the CRISPR knockout, researchers confirmed that destroying some of these genes has caused potatoes to either lose their tubers or plant them in the wrong places, enhancing their basic role.

Impact on evolution and agriculture

The origin story of potato illustrates how hybridization can trigger significant innovations than creating genetic diversity. The Petota lineage now includes 107 wild species, all with tubers, while the tilled potato is the third most important major staple staple in the world, second only to rice and wheat.

This hybrid-driven innovation also helps stabilize early ancestry. Since mixed offspring often faces fertility problems, the ability to reproduce asexually through tubers may be key to survival. Over time, natural selection has fine-tuned the hybrid genome, laying the foundation for the incredible diversity and global importance of today’s potatoes.

As Huang said, “We finally solved the mystery of where the potatoes come from.”

Magazine: cell
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.06.034
title: Ancient hybridization was the basis of nodules and radiation in the potato lineage
release: July 31, 2025

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