Location: Vegetable Research
Project Number: 6080-22000-030-015-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Jul 17, 2023
End Date: Sep 30, 2023
Objective:
1. Characterize accumulation of cadmium and lead in a 300 genotype GWAS panel and a biparental population.
2. Identify QTL(s) and/or genome regions through genotyping the GWAS panel and biparental mapping populations.
3. Determine segregation and heritability of cadmium and lead accumulation;rand 4) initiate germplasm and variety development of low heavy metal accumulation sweetpotatoes. Achievement of these goals will provide critical information that is lacking and will enable stakeholders along the American sweetpotato supply chain to provide food products with low levels of heavy metals.
Approach:
This project proposes to develop novel information on heavy metal accumulation in sweetpotato with regard to emerging issues linked to heavy metal contamination of baby foods.
Sweetpotato genotypes (300 PIs) from the USDA, ARS, GRIN collection will be grown in a pot system containing a sandy soil that has been artificially spiked with cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). Plants will be grown for 90 days and storage roots will be harvested and Cd and Pb content will be determined using inductively coupled plasma triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Cd and Pb content data will be used and to employ a genome-wide association study to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to Cd and Pb accumulation. Genotypes that are identified to be low and high accumulators of both metals will be crossed to develop a biparental mapping population for QTL identification and to investigate the segregation and heritability of Cd and Pb in sweetpotato. Lastly, clones that are found to be low accumulators of Cd and Pb from the biparental population will be submitted to the USDA sweetpotato germplasm repository as new germplasm.
