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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #351754
Research Project: Management of Genetic Resources and Associated Information in the U. S. Potato Genebank

Location: Vegetable Crops Research

Title: Natural variation of folate tuber content in potato

Author
item GOYER, AYMERIC - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item ROBINSON, BRUCE - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item SATHUVALLI, VIDYASAGAR - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item Bamberg, John

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/20/2018
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Folates are essential vitamins in the human diet. Folate deficiency is still a common worldwide problem that is linked to various serious disorders, such as birth defects, certain types of cardiovascular diseases and cancers, megaloblastic anemia, impaired cognitive performance and depression. There are 250,000 cases of neural tube defects annually worldwide; it is estimated that up to 70% can be prevented with proper folate intake. Potato is the third most consumed food crops in the world, and is therefore a fundamental element of food security for millions of people. Folate biofortification of potato is a cost-effective strategy that could help alleviate folate deficiency. In this paper, we report results of systematic phenotyping of tuber folate content in various potato germplasm using a tri-enzyme extraction and microbiological assay. Germplasm included varieties, advanced breeding lines, primitive cultivars and wild species. Overall, there was a ~10-fold variation in tuber folate concentrations, ranging from ~300 to ~3,000 ng g-1 dry weight. The majority of screened germplasm had folate concentrations between ~500 and ~1,300 ng g-1 dry weight. Tuber materials with folate concentrations above 1,500 ng g-1 dry weight were all from primitive cultivars or wild species. The highest folate individuals identified were from Solanum boliviense (PI 597736) and S. tuberosum group Andigenum (PI 225710 and PI 320377). S. vernei accessions also yielded a high number of high folate individuals. Our results show that using the genetic diversity of potato may be a promising approach to increase the folate content of potato tubers via breeding.