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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #351750
Research Project: Maximizing the Impact of Potato Genebank Resources: Development and Evaluation of a Wild Species Genotype Diversity Panel

Location: Vegetable Crops Research

Title: Inbreeding Red Norland: stabilizing a genetic background for tuber shape, skin color and tuber finish

Author
item Busse, James
item Bethke, Paul
item Jansky, Shelley

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/19/2018
Publication Date: 7/22/2018
Citation: Busse, J.S., Bethke, P.C., Jansky, S.H. 2018. Inbreeding Red Norland: stabilizing a genetic background for tuber shape, skin color and tuber finish. Meeting Abstract. 96:322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-019-09723-w.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-019-09723-w

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Our work follows a proposal to change potato from a crop with a complicated tetraploid genetic background into an inbred diploid crop. When highly heterozygous plants reproduce by true seed, a large number of distinct plants result. Nearly all of the new progeny are inferior to the parents. Hence, genetic improvements are slow in tetraploid potatoes, but could occur more quickly in diploid potatoes. Inbreeding is a way to select and maintain favorable alleles while reducing occurrence of plants with poor genetic makeup. We are interested in developing a diploid breeding system for the improvement of red-skinned potato varieties. We are using inbreeding as a way to stabilize alleles for tuber shape, skin color and glossy tuber finish. Seeds from open pollinated Red Norland were sown in a greenhouse yielding 204 S1 seedlings. These seedlings were evaluated mid-season for shoot development abnormalities, vigor, tuber skin color and early tuber set. There were 73 S1 seedlings selected and these plants were maintained until reaching maturity. Three of the S1 seedlings flowered, were selfed and produced viable seed (the S2 generation). These S2 seedlings have germinated and are undergoing greenhouse evaluation. At harvest, tubers from S1 seedlings were evaluated for tuber shape, skin color and tuber finish. The two S1 seedlings which set fruit and seed also produced round tubers with dark red skin color and nice tuber finish. We are growing S1 tubers from lines which scored favorably hoping more lines may flower and set seed. We believe that inbreeding is a way to increase homozygosity and stabilize the genetic background for tuber shape, skin color and tuber finish. We ultimately plan to produce diploid potatoes from this material by crossing the inbred tetraploid with the diploid pollinator Solanum. tuberosum Group phureja.