Potato greening: gaining an understanding through ‘omics approaches
Citation
Potato greening: gaining an understanding through ‘omics approaches
K. Dougherty1, T. F. Mitterboeck1*, M. Lague1, M. Zaidi2, B. Bizimungu1, and B. Fofana2. 1Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 4Z7 (e-mail:fatima.mitterboeck@agr.gc.ca); and 2Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4N6.
Potato ‘greening’ occurs when tubers are exposed to light, and results from a de novo synthesis of chlorophyll and a simultaneous formation of steroidal glycoalkaloids, which are toxic to humans and animals. Potato is the largest vegetable crop in Canada, and this greening causes substantial loss of products. Currently, there are no potato cultivars that are resistant to light–induced greening available on the market. The goal of this study is to understand the genetic components and molecular mechanisms of light-induced greening, and to use this knowledge to develop gene-editing tools to generate cultivars resistant to greening. From a core germplasm collection of over 800 mutant potato clones, two clones were observed to be tolerant to light-induced greening. These two non-greening clones, along with a greening control, underwent whole genome sequencing as well as transcriptomic sequencing after light exposure. Here, we will show our findings on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and structural variants (SV) that differentiate the non-greening from greening clones. Deploying the non-greening trait into popular potato cultivars would be of high interest to the industry and stakeholders both for tuber appearance, quality, safety, marketability, and food waste reduction.
Abstract
Potato ‘greening’ occurs when tubers are exposed to light, and results from a de novo synthesis of chlorophyll and a simultaneous formation of steroidal glycoalkaloids, which are toxic to humans and animals. Potato is the largest vegetable crop in Canada, and this greening causes substantial loss of products. Currently, there are no potato cultivars that are resistant to light–induced greening available on the market. The goal of this study is to understand the genetic components and molecular mechanisms of light-induced greening, and to use this knowledge to develop gene-editing tools to generate cultivars resistant to greening. From a core germplasm collection of over 800 mutant potato clones, two clones were observed to be tolerant to light-induced greening. These two non-greening clones, along with a greening control, underwent whole genome sequencing as well as transcriptomic sequencing after light exposure. Here, we will show our findings on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and structural variants (SV) that differentiate the non-greening from greening clones. Deploying the non-greening trait into popular potato cultivars would be of high interest to the industry and stakeholders both for tuber appearance, quality, safety, marketability, and food waste reduction.