The Secret Behind Indigenous Andeans’ “Digestive Superpower” May Be Potatoes

A UCLA and University at Buffalo study found evidence that Andean populations adapted genetically to potato farming.

Researchers analyzed DNA from Quechua-speaking Indigenous people and found natural selection favored higher AMY1 copy numbers.

The AMY1 gene helps produce salivary amylase, an enzyme important for starch digestion.

The findings suggest potatoes, a staple crop in the high Andes 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, helped shape human evolution.