In Michigan, Michigan State University researchers found a set of common genes and important genetic pathways that have helped potatoes adapt over thousands of years, which can help them understand which genetic keys will ensure that potatoes thrive in the future.
Robin Buell, Michigan State University Foundation Professor of Plant Biology and senior author of the paper, told Wisconsin State Farmer, “Worldwide, potato is the third most important crop grown for direct human consumption, yet breeders have struggled to produce new varieties that outperform those released over a century ago. By analyzing cultivated potato and its wild relatives using modern genomics approaches, we were able to reveal key factors that could address food security in 21st century agriculture.”
The study was the largest crop re-sequencing study to date and tackled one of the most-diverse crop genomes. The modern-day potato is genetically very complex, having four times the regular number of chromosomes and has an estimated 39,000 genes, compared to humans which have about 20,000 genes.