By Terry Wade

LIMA (Reuters) - Scientists around the world have teamed up to sequence the genome of the potato, hoping to crack the genetic code of one of the world's most important crops at a time of surging population growth and high food prices.

Solanum tuberosum, the scientific name of the humble white potato, looks simple. But it is chock full of mysteries hidden in its 12 chromosomes and 840 million DNA base pairs. Humans, by comparison, have 3 billion DNA base pairs.