An international breeding project using a wild potato relative Solanum commersonii resulted in two new frost-tolerant native potato cultivars for the Andes and the Altiplano

Authors: ARCOS-PINEDA, JESUS - National Agricultural Research Institute(INIA); DEL RIO, ALFONSO - University Of Wisconsin; Bamberg, John; VEGA-SEMORILE, SANDRA - University Of Wisconsin; PALTA, JIWAN - University Of Wisconsin; SALAS, ALBERTO - International Potato Center; GOMEZ, RENE - International Potato Center; ROCA, WILLIAM - International Potato Center; ELLIS, DAVID - International Potato Center

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2024
Publication Date: 3/5/2024
Citation: Arcos-Pineda, J., Del Rio, A., Bamberg, J.B., Vega-Semorile, S., Palta, J., Salas, A., Gomez, R., Roca, W., Ellis, D. 2024. An international breeding project using a wild potato relative Solanum commersonii resulted in two new frost-tolerant native potato cultivars for the Andes and the Altiplano. Frontiers in Plant Science. 15-2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1358565.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1358565

Interpretive Summary: Potato is the world's most popular vegetable. The crop’s great capacity to produce nutritious food results in high economic, social, and nutritional impact. One challenge to realizing that is sensitivity to climate stress. For example, In Peru, the native home of potato, it is grown in high mountain plains where frosts can occur any time during the growing season. Here we report a milestone in an international collaboration to breed more frost tolerant varieties for Peru. All the parents of the new variety we produced were already contained in the US Potato Genebank at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. With advice from Peruvian collaborators, USDA/ARS staff combined extremely frost tolerant wild potato species with native cultivars adapted to the Cuzco region of Peru. The resulting seeds were sent to Peru for evaluation and selection. Eventually, a few individual plants were identified with superior yield, frost tolerance, drought tolerance and farmer and consumer acceptance. One of these was released as a formal new variety named Wiñay, which means “to grow” in Quechua. This individual and some of its siblings have been further used in Peru as breeding stocks. This project demonstrates how long-term genebank preservation in the US, coupled with free international exchange of know-how and stocks can result in development of significantly improved potatoes that greatly benefit both countries.

Technical Abstract: Potato wild relatives are exceptional sources of useful traits which can be utilized in breeding. If effectively deployed, they can add important genetic variation for enhancing plant resilience to pests/diseases and abiotic stresses. This international project involved a cooperation between the USPG and Peruvian partners: INIA, farmers from native communities, and scientists from CIP, to generate breeding lines with enhanced frost tolerance in native cultivars through the introgression of genes of S. commersonii (cmm). This is a potato species native to Uruguay known for extreme frost hardiness and cold acclimation capacity. In the Andes and the Altiplano, frost is a significant constraint that causes decrease in yield or the total loss of the crop. This project initiated at the USPG used traditional breeding methods to create families segregating for frost hardiness using as parents (a) a somatic hybrid cmm – haploid S. tuberosum (cv. Superior, a variety created in Wisconsin) and, (b) as female parents, seven native potato cultivars from the Cusco region in Peru (S, tuberosum sbsp. andigenum). All plant materials used were part of the USPG germplasm collection. Several thousands of seeds from these breeding families were sent to Peru to assess frost tolerance and agronomic performance under field conditions in regions where frost events are common. Seedlings planted for single-plant selections in five locations were assessed for plant injury after frost and then for their recovery capacity. In addition, selection was also done for the tuber traits preferred by the local farmers (i.e., color, shape, and taste). The selected genotypes went to additional testing and selection in replicated field trials in harder environmental conditions in the Altiplano (Puno). After 10 years, two advanced clones with superior frost tolerance, attractive plant and tuber traits and good field productivity were selected for cultivar release. In November 2018, one of the advanced clones was released as a new native cultivar for Peru with the name Wiñay, a Quechua word meaning “to grow”. In November 2022, a second one followed with the name Llapanchispaq (meaning “for all of us”). This highlights the significance of incorporating scientific innovations to make breeding possible. Likewise, emphasizes the role of genebanks in promoting the use of diversity in a context of international work to enhance resilience to climate change impacts. This is even more significant when the outcomes of this project can benefit smallholders in vulnerable regions of the world.