Uncovering the 9-Million-Year-Old Tomato Connection to Potato Origins

Scientists discovered that potatoes originated from a hybridization event between ancestors of tomatoes and Etuberosum around 9 million years ago, which allowed them to adapt to high-altitude habitats in the Andes and eventually led to domesticated varieties. This hybridization provided potatoes with unique traits like tuber formation, and understanding this process could help develop disease-resistant and climate-resilient potato crops through genetic engineering.