Solanum tuberosum

Image Credit:

Potato, pngimg.com

Scientific name: Solanum tuberosum

Common name(s): potato

Name as shown in Phylogenes: potato

Ploidy: diploid

Description:

Solanum tuberosum (potato) is the world’s most important non-grain food crop. It is native to the Americas and planted world wide today. It belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae) which includes crops such as tomato, pepper and eggplant. Most potato cultivars are tetraploid, however, the sequenced potato is a homozygous diploid (a doubled haploid). Major research interests in potato include tuber development and disease resistance. Potato is susceptible to many diseases including the most devastating,  potato late blight.

Reference(s):

1. Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium. Genome sequence and analysis of tuber crop potato. Nature. 2011. 475(7355):189-95. DOI: 10.1038/nature10158

Genome Database(s):

SGN