Improving global food security by tracing the origin, diversity and niche conditions of cultivated bitter potatoes

The crop diversity of our food systems has diminished in the wake of globalism. Baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fries, and chips, ... are all based on a single crop species, Solanum tuberosum, which is globally cultivated. Other potato species have been domesticated for food but are cultivated only in South America, for example, the bitter potato species: S. ajanhuiri, S. juzepczukii, and S. curtilobum. These species possess desirable traits like drought and frost resistance and early maturity. However, their bitterness and toxicity prevent them from becoming widely consumed, even when the toxicity is mitigated by traditional processing techniques. This project will work to resolve the complex trajectory of where their bitterness is genetically coded, and how their bitterness level has been shaped by indigenous selection processes over time. As a result of this project, it is the aim to demonstrate that these overlooked plant species represent a solution to food security.