Scientists have finally uncoded the genetic blueprint of the potato. Solanum tuberosum or potatao is the world’s fourth most important food crop and is vital for global food security. But its sequencing has been delayed due to the genetic complexity. The team found that potato’s genome comprises more than 39,000 protein-coding genes, has four copies of every chromosome—heterozygous autotetraploid.

There is also considerable variation among the corresponding four copies of each gene. This is in contrast to the two copies in humans. They also identified around 800 disease-resistance genes, each of which has a potential to fight diseases such as potato cyst and potato blight.

Source : Down To Earth
Date: August, 2011