COSMOS MAGAZINE
Potatoes are far from humble – about 2/3 of the world’s population eats them as staple diet. New research has shown they can be genetically modified to be more resilient to global warming.
Credit: RIPE Project/Katherine Meacham-Hensold
Climate-ready crops: heatwave-tolerant potatoes
Researchers in the US have created a genetically modified chip that doesn’t darken as easily – if successful this would minimise waste for the spud industry and limit a potential carcinogen from ending up in your snack.
Credit: Adapted from Bhaskar, P.B., et al. Plant Physiology, 2010, 154 (2), 939–948
Switching off a potato gene reduces carcinogens in chips
Scientists might have been looking in the wrong place to find the original source of potato blight, which could prevent the discovery of ways to avoid the problem.
Credit: RIPE Project/Katherine Meacham-Hensold
The Irish potato famine originated in South America
An international team of researchers has assembled a “super pangenome” of potatoes to find the genes that make the best crop. The super pangenome represents genetic data from 296 different types of potato, and could be used to spot genes that make potatoes more nutritious, or more resilient to disease and weather.
Credit: Getty.
Using genetics to find the best possible potato
Credit: Liudmyla Liudmyla/Getty Images
Antibiotic hiding in diseased potatoes thwarts fungal infections in plants and humans