Potatoes and tomatoes are much closer to each other than they might seem at first glance. (Image credit: brightstars/Getty Images)
A chance hybridization between wild tomatoes and potato-like species 8 to 9 million years ago likely led to the emergence of one of our favorite carbohydrates: the potato.
The familiar cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum), along with 107 extant wild species, belongs to the genus Petota. Recent research suggests that this genus, or group of closely related species, arose from the mixing of ancestors of two other genera: the tomato, which includes 17 modern species such as the salad Solanum lycopersicum, and Etuberosum, of which three modern species grow in South America.
“From an evolutionary perspective, we had an unresolved [disagreement] in the relationships between the Tomato, Petota, and Etuberosum lineages,” Sandra Knapp, a research botanist at the Natural History Museum in London and a co-author of the new study, told Live Science in an email.
You might be interested
-
Research has found that ancient explorers brought rice to the Pacific Islands in a remote cave on Guam 3,500 years ago.
-
Cats may have been domesticated much later than we thought – earlier members of the cat family may have been eaten or used in clothing.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
