Path analysis of genotype-environment interactions of potatoes exposed to increasing warm-climate constraints

Summary Twenty potato cultivars were tested in replicated trials in three seasons. The weather gradually changed from relatively high humidity and cold air temperatures in February to dry and hot in July. Fresh and dry weights, sucrose, reducing sugar and starch contents were recorded on tubers sequentially harvested over four stages during the growing period of each of the three trials. The data were analyzed for genotype-environment interactions by a path regression model which is composed of a main effect and four multiplicative effects. The model fitted well to the observed data for all traits but reducing sugar. Results of dry tuber weight were used to calculate a heat susceptibility index for each of the cultivars. Four components of the index were identified based on the path model. Comparison of sizes of the components provided information on the degree of response to the environmental stress of each of the cultivars during successive stages of growth. High yielding and heat tolerant cultivars were identified based on the experimental results.     

Changing climate and potential impacts on potato yield and quality ‘CHIP’: introduction, aims and methodology

Climate change effects caused by an increasing concentration of CO₂ and ozone represent an issue of major concern both for scientists and policy-makers. In a concerted program funded by the Commission of the European Union, a European network of experiments (in open-top chambers (OTC), and free air carbon dioxide enrichment systems (FACE)) and modelling was carried out to investigate the effects of increasing atmospheric CO₂ and ozone concentrations, under different climatic conditions, on potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Bintje). This contribution describes the experimental network and the standard protocol set-up for the assessments that served to improve and to validate process oriented potato growth simulation models leading to scenarios of future productivity of potato in Europe.     

CO2 and ozone effects on canopy development of potato crops across Europe

This paper describes the effects of elevated CO₂ (550 and 680 μl l⁻¹) and O₃ (60 nl l⁻¹ O₃ as an 8 h mean), alone or in combination, on canopy development and senescence in potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Bintje) across a range of European agro-climatic conditions. The assessments were made within the European CHIP project (CHanging climate and potential Impacts on Potato yield and quality) that was conducted for two growing seasons (1998 and 1999) in free air CO₂ enrichment systems (FACE) and open-top chamber facilities (OTCs) at seven European sites. A comparison of chambered and unchambered experimental plots was included to examine the effects of chamber enclosure. Phenological growth stages, plant height, leaf area index (LAI) and the number of green and yellow leaves were recorded non-destructively throughout the growing season and by a destructive intermediate harvest at maximum leaf area (MLA). In the dynamic growth analysis CO₂ and O₃ effects were studied over three developmental stages: canopy expansion, full canopy and canopy senescence. Chamber enclosures promoted potato crop development (taller plants, more leaves) during the initial growth stages and led to a faster decline of LAI and a higher number of yellow leaves. The growth in ambient plots varied between sites and seasons, as did the scale of the treatment responses. Despite the large background variation, some overall treatment effects could be detected across all sites. Both levels of increased CO₂ reduced final plant height in comparison to ambient concentrations, which indicates a premature ending of the active plant growth. At the stage of full canopy and crop senescence the average number of green leaves was significantly (P<0.05) decreased by 680 μl l⁻¹ CO₂ (OTC experiments) and LAI showed the same tendency (P=0.07). As there was however no indication of a decreased leaf formation during initial growth and at full canopy, this must have been due to an earlier leaf fall. In the FACE experiments LAI had already began to decline at the stage of full canopy at 550 μl l⁻¹ CO₂ but not in ambient CO₂ (DAE×CO₂, P<0.05). These observations strongly indicated that elevated CO₂ induced a premature senescence during full canopy. O₃ did not have an overall detrimental effect on crop development during initial growth nor at full canopy, but did induce a faster reduction of LAI during crop senescence (DAE×O₃, P<0.05). Final plant height was not affected by O₃. There were few CO₂×O₃ interactions detected. There was a suggestion (P=0.06) that O₃ counteracted the CO₂-induced decrease of green leaves at full canopy, but on the other hand during crop senescence the decline of LAI due to elevated O₃ was faster at ambient compared to elevated CO₂ (P<0.05). These responses of canopy development to elevated CO₂ and O₃ help to explain the treatment responses of potato yield within the CHIP project at sites across Europe.     

Effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on potato tuber quality in the European multiple-site experiment ‘CHIP-project’

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L cv. Bintje) was exposed to ambient and elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂), to ambient and elevated ozone (O₃) and to elevated levels of both gases during two growing seasons, 1998 and 1999. Experiments in open-top chambers (OTC) were carried out in Finland, Sweden, Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium and a FACE (Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment) experiment was carried out in Italy. In OTCs the plants were grown under ambient CO₂ concentrations or with 550 and 680 μl l⁻¹ CO₂ alone or in combination with ambient or elevated O₃ concentrations (target seasonal mean of 60 nl l⁻¹ 8 h per day). In the FACE systems the plants were exposed to ambient or 550 μl l⁻¹ CO₂. In the OTC experiments the reducing sugar content of potato tubers decreased significantly with increased concentration of O₃. The starch content of potato tubers decreased, with negative impact on tuber quality, but the ascorbic acid concentration increased as a function of the AOT40 (The sum of the differences between hourly ozone concentration and 40 nl l⁻¹ for each hour when the concentration exceeds 40 nl l⁻¹ during a relevant growing season). However, simultaneous exposure to elevated CO₂ counteracted the ozone effect. With increase in the CO₂ exposure, glycoalkaloid and nitrate concentrations decreased yielding improved quality, while the citric acid concentration decreased causing a higher risk for discoloration after cooking. The amount of dry matter and starch increased significantly in the FACE experiment.     

Potato germplasm development for warm climates: genetic enhancement of tolerance to heat stress

Complex potato hybrids were derived through unilateral sexual polyploidization between Solanum tuberosum cv. Atlantic and 11 diploid hybrids that produced 2n pollen through co-orientation of second division spindles. The hybrids represented the following genomic compositions: TAPB, TAPC, and TAPM where T = S. tuberosum, A = S. andigena, P = S. phureja, B = S. berthaultii, C = S. chacoense, and M = S. microdontum. The B, C, and M components of the hybrids had been selected from heat tolerant accessions. The heat tolerance and agronomic performance of the hybrids were assessed under both controlled environments and field tests. The hybrids exhibited good tuberization potential (tuber number, tuber weight and percent plants producing tubers) under heat stress conditions in controlled environments. Under severe heat stress conditions in the field in Israel, many of the hybrids tuberized when Atlantic failed to produce any tubers at all. Under more moderate heat stress in Virginia, the complex hybrids exhibited total tuber yield not significantly different from Atlantic, although the tuber set per plant was greater. However, the complex hybrids were more tolerant to heat necrosis and hollow heart than Atlantic. Total glycoalkaloids in field-grown tubers did not exceed the acceptable limit for 13 of 26 selections examined. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Half-sib progeny evaluation and selection of potatoes resistant to the US8 genotype of Phytophthora infestans from crosses between resistant and susceptible parents

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the use of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) late blight (Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary) resistant parents in cultivar development and identify superior clones possessing moderate to high late blight resistance combined with acceptable maturity and tuber quality. Ninety-five crosses were made between eight unadapted parents with reported late blight resistance (B0718-3, Bertita, Bzura, Greta, Libertas, Stobrawa, Tollocan and Zarevo) and susceptible parents (cultivars or advanced breeding clones) adapted to North American growing conditions. A total of 408 field selected clones were assessed for late blight resistance in the greenhouse and in the field using a mixture of US8 P. infestans isolates (A2 mating type, metalaxyl resistant) that overcame all known R-genes except R8 and R9. Clones with ≤ 10% infected foliar area in the greenhouse test or ≤ 0.30 RAUDPC (relative area under the disease progress curve) value in the field in 1998 were re-tested in 1999. A total of 118 (29% of 408) putative late blight resistant clones were selected. The eight late blight resistant parents differed in both the ability to transmit late blight resistance and in the level of resistance transmitted to the progeny. The Tollocan and B0718-3 families (half-sib progeny) had the greatest degree of resistance and frequency of resistant clones. Scott-Knott cluster analysis ranked 79 clones (67% of 118) in the high and moderate late blight resistant groups. Among these 79 clones, 19 clones had vine maturity equal to or earlier than mid-season combined with acceptable tuber quality. Further selection in 2000 resulted in eight advanced selected clones (six from Tollocan and two from B0718-3 families) with the same level of resistance as the parent combined with vine maturity and tuber quality equivalent to Atlantic, a standard cultivar for chip processing in North America. The results indicate that this breeding approach can be used to select parents for late blight resistance breeding and to identify superior clones with high levels of late blight resistance and marketable vine maturity and tuber quality. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Molecular Analysis of Local Potato Cultivars from Tenerife Island Using Microsatellite Markers

We have used 19 SSR markers to fingerprint 41 local potato cultivars from 10 locations of Tenerife Island. These varieties represent relicts of the early introductions originating from South America and have been characterised previously morphologically and ecophysiologically. The SSR primers generated a varying degree of polymorphisms. A total of 67 alleles were observed, 12 of them were present in all cultivars. Several accession and group specific alleles were detected. Similarity coefficients were computed from the molecular data and cluster analyses were performed. Generally, cultivar groups with identical or related common names showed the same SSR patterns or clustered closely together. According to the molecular patterns misleading or confounded names were evident for four accessions. The dendrogram clusters were generally in good agreement with previous classifications of the accessions as Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena, S. tuberosum subsp. tuberosum and Solanum chaucha genotypes. However in four cases the molecular patterns showed discrepancies with previous species assignments suggesting the need for a more detailed and comparative study of these accessions.     

Race specific resistance against Phytophthora infestans in potato is controlled by more genetic factors than only R-genes

Summary For RFLP mapping of R-genes, determining resistance to specific races of Phytophthora infestans in tetraploid potato, it is necessary to develop well segregating populations at the 2x level. During mapping studies, evidence was obtained that more genetic factor(s) are involved in the expression of R-genes than conventionally believed. Two experiments are described in which such an additional genetic factor was suppressing or enhancing the expression of unknown R _nand R _ifactors. R _nand R _iappeared to be present in the investigated plant material, containing R4 and R10, or in one of the susceptible crossing parents. In a third experiment, the expression and the segregation of the well known R1 gene was influenced by an additional genetic factor. In that case there were indications for a dominant suppressor. This was established by the selection of susceptible plants carrying a RFLP allele of probe GP21 closely linked to R1. In three of the four F₁ populations, resulting from crosses between such susceptible plants and susceptible tester plants, resistnat progenies were found. The resistance appeared to be R1-specific. This clearly indicates that in three of the four investigated susceptible plants, the R1 gene was still present but not expressed.     

Cytological studies on adventitious shoots and minitubers of a monoploid potato clone

Summary A three step procedure for adventitious shoot regeneration on leaf explants of monoploid potato clone H7322 and a minituber induction procedure on stem segments have been described. Chromosome counts on 92 adventitious shoots showed that 85% of them had been polyploidized, i.e., 71% were diploid, 1% tetraploid, and 13% were mixoploid. Cytophotometric studies on nuclei of soil grown tubers of tetraploid cv Astarte, of 1x, 2x and 4x adventitious shoots of H7322, and of diploid H²578 showed in all cases polyploidization with prominent classes up to 8C and 16C. However, nuclei of pith cells of 5 weeks old minitubers which had developed on monoploid H7322 itself or on 1x adventitious shoots of H7322 showed predominantly 1C and 2C values. Pith cells of minitubers of monoploid H7322 were screened, after iodine staining, for the presence of variant cells containing reddish-brown staining (amylose-free) starch. In more than 75% of the investigated minitubers one or a few of such variant cells were found indicating that such a variation occurs in minitubers of monoploid potato and that this variant character is expressed in cells of vegetative storage organs like potato tubers.     

The transfer of the synaptic gene (sy-2) from 1EBN Solanum commersonii Dun. to 2EBN germplasm

Summary Crosses of a synaptic mutant (sy-2) of 2x(1EBN) S. commersonii Dun. with 2x(2EBN) S. chacoense Bitt. resulted in the production of 3x(2EBN) hybrids. Low levels of 2n egg production in these hybrids allowed subsequent crosses to be made with 4x(4EBN) cultivars, resulting in 5x(4EBN) S. commersonii-S. chacoense-Group Tuberosum hybrids. Seed set in these crosses averaged 0.22 seeds per fruit. Fifty-four unspotted seeds were produced in 1225 crosses of the 5x(4EBN) hybrids with 2x(2EBN) Group Phureja haploid extraction clones carrying dominant seed spot markers. These seeds yielded a total of 15 confirmed haploids having a diploid (2n=2x=24) or near diploid chromosome number. One haploid clone recovered displayed a synaptically abnormal phenotype similar to the original S. commersonii synaptic mutant. Preliminary test crosses of these haploids indicated that all haploids produced were 2EBN.This method for the transfer of alleles across EBN levels holds promise for the recovery of both qualitative and quantitative traits from 1EBN species. In these recovered, cross-compatible forms, clones with desired characteristics may be selected and easily incorporated into breeding programs.