April 2024 - 8

BREEDING
BREAKTHROUGHS
Discoveries hold potential to make transmitting traits more precise
By Melanie Epp
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
I
t's every potato breeder's dream to be
able to swiftly and efficiently bring
desirable traits together to create a
more productive and resistant potato
cultivar. Since most potato varieties are
tetraploids, breeding is both complex
and time-consuming.
However, recent discoveries
by Corentin Clot, a researcher at
Wageningen University & Research
(WUR) in Wageningen, Netherlands,
related to potato sexual reproduction
could simplify the breeding of this
important crop.
SIMPLIFYING A COMPLEX
JOURNEY
Globally, potato is a staple crop
in many countries, with the United
Nations' Food and Agricultural
Organization estimating that 5,000
varieties are cultivated in 159 countries.
As climates change, and insect and
disease pressures mount, the need for
new varieties is of growing importance.
Most potato varieties are tetraploid,
meaning they have four copies of each
chromosome, each of which contains
its own hereditary information. This
makes the breeding process challenging
when trying to pass desired traits from
crossing parents to the offspring.
" You might have two different potato
varieties with desirable characteristics
that you want to combine, but upon
intercrossing them, their genetic
makeup will get all shuffled, " Clot said.
" Then identifying superior descents is
just a numbers game. This turns potato
breeding into a lottery. "
One way to help ensure that
the desired traits are consistently
transmitted is to work with
homozygous parents, meaning that
identical versions of the genes are
present on all chromosome copies. This
is more easily achieved with diploids,
as they only have two copies of each
chromosome.
Globally, potato is a staple crop in many countries,
with the United Nations' Food and Agricultural
Organization estimating that 5,000 varieties are
cultivated in 159 countries.
8
Spudman * April 2024

April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024

Editor's Letter
Breeding breakthroughs
Psyllid watch
Trail by smoke
Digging up answers
Immense impact
Potato Association of America
National Potato Council
Potatoes USA
Calendar/Ad Index
April 2024 - 1
April 2024 - 2
April 2024 - 3
April 2024 - Editor's Letter
April 2024 - 5
April 2024 - 6
April 2024 - 7
April 2024 - Breeding breakthroughs
April 2024 - 9
April 2024 - 10
April 2024 - 11
April 2024 - Psyllid watch
April 2024 - 13
April 2024 - Trail by smoke
April 2024 - 15
April 2024 - 16
April 2024 - Digging up answers
April 2024 - 18
April 2024 - 19
April 2024 - Immense impact
April 2024 - 21
April 2024 - Potato Association of America
April 2024 - 23
April 2024 - National Potato Council
April 2024 - Potatoes USA
April 2024 - Calendar/Ad Index
April 2024 - 27
April 2024 - 28
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