Tomato is Mom???

When you dip your fries in ketchup, you might not realize that they're quite closely related.

On July 31^st, 2025, Cell published online findings from a team led by Huang Sanwen, a researcher at the Shenzhen Institute of Agricultural Genomics, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, in collaboration with Chinese and international scientists. They found that the potato evolved from a tomato ancestor approximately 9 million years ago. This systematic study reveals the hybrid origins, tuber formation, and radiation of the Solanum tuberosum group.

Reviewers believe this is a significant example of how ancient interspecific hybridization events contributed to the rapid diversification of species. This is an exciting study of the potato, the world's third-largest staple food crop.

"This study is groundbreaking," said James Mallet, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. "It demonstrates how hybridization events can trigger the emergence of new organs and even new species."

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