A team of experts led by scientists from China studied the gene sequences of 44 potato lines from wild species and cultivars. They discovered the gene that made the potato a key non-grain food crop in the world. The development was announced Nature magazine.
Geneticists analyzed 732 genes that are usually expressed in tubers. After a series of experiments, experts were able to identify the presence of a transcription factor that allows potatoes to grow tubers.
Evolution has made the potato tuber a kind of warehouse for storing substances. This gives the plant an advantage in survival, and it is the tubers - edible and nutritious - that a person needs.