Potatoes may have given Indigenous Andeans a digestive superpower
A study published in Nature Communications suggests that Indigenous Andean populations evolved a higher number of copies of the AMY1 gene to better digest starch from potatoes. This genetic adaptation likely occurred as potatoes became a dietary staple in the region thousands of years ago.
For thousands of years, potatoes have been central to life in the Andes. Indigenous Andean communities were the first to domesticate the starch-rich crop, turning it into a dietary staple long before potatoes spread around the world. Now, researchers have found evidence that this ancient reliance on potatoes may also have shaped human evolution.
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