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Title: Late blight-resistant tuber-bearing Solanum species in field and laboratory trials

Author
item ROGOZINA, ELENA - Vavilov Institute
item KUZNETSOVA, MARIA - Russian Institute Of Phytopathology
item PATRIKEYEVA, MARIA - Russian Academy Of Sciences
item SPIGLAZOVA, SVETLANA - St Petersburg State University
item Deahl, Kenneth

Submitted to: EuroBlight Workshop
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/11/2010
Publication Date: 12/1/2010
Citation: Rogozina, E., Kuznetsova, M., Patrikeyeva, M., Spiglazova, S., Deahl, K.L. 2010. Late blight-resistant tuber-bearing Solanum species in field and laboratory trials. EuroBlight Workshop. 14:239-246.

Interpretive Summary: Although it has been more than 160 years since the Irish Potato Famine, most potato varieties still lack the ability to ward off the the disease. Therefore, scientists are attempting to exploit the resistance found in wild potato species that evolved along with the disease agent. This manuscript describes how new resistance genes from wild potato species were tested, characterized, and found to confer resistance when compared with susceptible potatoes. Breeding for resistance represents an obvious alternative to fungicide application and continued work in this area will greatly benefit the consumer and the potato farmer. This work will be useful to breeders attempting to develop disease resistant potato varieties.

Technical Abstract: Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is the most disastrous and widespread disease of potato. One of the most effective means of controlling late blight is through the use of resistant cultivars, but newly developed resistant cultivars often lose their resistance after a few years of commercial production. The effects of a current P. infestans population in Russia on genotype of Mexican tuber-bearing Solanum species were assessed in field and laboratory trials. Two-year experiments documented disease progress in 78 accessions of 19 species under high infection pressure. Detached leaf tests conducted independently in laboratories of two scientific institutions identified the response of 19 species to isolates collected in different regions of Russia. As a whole, we characterized Solanum genotypes with a broad range of resistance to late blight.