A 'chip' off the old block: Scientists make breakthrough in potato crop cultivation

Chinese scientists have made a new breakthrough in hybrid potato breeding by using evolutionary genomics to identify deleterious mutations, which may help shorten the breeding process and generate more, and better, potato varieties.

The breakthrough, made by a research team from the Agricultural Genomics Institute in Shenzhen, associated with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was published online in the latest issue of the scientific journal Cell.

Potato is the most important tuber food crop, and one of the world's staple crops. Compared with other staple crops, potato needs less water and can be planted in a wide range of areas, says Wu Yaoyao, a key member of the research team.