"Our super pangenome sheds light on the potato's genetic diversity and what kinds of genetic traits could potentially be bred into our modern-day crop to make it better," says Professor Strömvik, who collaborated with researchers across Canada, the Unites States and Peru."It represents 60 species and is the most extensive collection of genome sequence data for the potato and its relatives to date," she adds.
A genome is an organism's complete set of genetic instructions known as the DNA sequence, while a pangenome aims to capture the complete genetic diversity within a species, and a super pangenome also includes multiple species.The potato is a staple food source for many people around the world—and it's one of the most important food crops globally, after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption.