Phenotypic Analyses of Multi-Environment Data for Two Diverse Tetraploid Potato Collections: Comparing an Academic Panel with an Industrial Panel

Phenotypic analyses of two different association panels of tetraploid potato cultivars are presented. Association panels are sets of variously related genotypes assembled for association analysis purposes. The aims of this research were to inspect, analyse and compare two phenotypic data sets, a first step in association mapping analysis. A first panel of 205 contemporary and historical cultivars, selected to represent the commercial potato germplasm pool, was evaluated in two trials in 2006, one on sandy soil and the other on clay soil, both with two replications. It was called the academic panel. Data for the second panel with 299 genotypes were compiled from contributions from five breeding companies and included 66 locations and 18 years. Each of the participating breeding companies contributed data from their clonal selection programmes for 38 advanced breeding clones and a series of standard cultivars. It was called the industrial panel. Variance components for genotypic main effects and genotype-by-environment interactions were calculated, and estimates for the random genotypic main effects were produced. The genotypic main effects for 19 agro-morphological and quality traits were used to study trait by trait correlations within each panel. In addition, for the genotypes shared by both panels, the correlation of genetic main effects between the panels was investigated. The heritability of all traits was high and no large differences were observed between panels. Coefficients of trait variation were highly correlated (r = 0.9) for both panels and trait by trait correlations in both panels showed highly similar patterns. These results demonstrate that a single-year balanced field trial as well as using breeders’ records yields robust phenotypic information that can be used in a genome-wide association study. Issues related to data management and definition of traits are discussed.