ABSTRACT
The potato is one of the most productive and nutritious vegetables, currently ranking third in worldwide crop production. It produces not only high carbohydrate (starch), but also higher quality protein than any vegetable except soybeans. Potatoes are also an important source of animal feed, industrial starch, ethanol, and consequently biofuels. In recent years, human health-promoting compounds, mainly antioxidants (vitamin C, phenolics, and carotenoids) and anticancer agents (gallic acid or α-chaconine), have been studied in relation to healthier food (Lester 2006; Stushnoff et al. 2008; Reddivari et al. 2010). Although the potato has such importance for agriculture, industrial applications, and human health, genetics and genomic studies are less advanced because of its autotetraploidy (2n = 4x = 48), heterozygosity, and inbreeding depression, which make genetic study and manipulation quite difcult. However, the potato genome was recently sequenced by using a dihaploid produced by in vitro anther culture of Solanum phureja, a development that will soon open more possibilities for biotechnological improvement (Huang et al. 2011). These results of the Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (PGSC), based on homozygous doubled and
CONTENTS
5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 139 5.2 Improvement of Potato by Transgenesis ........................................................................ 140
5.2.1 The Use of Reporter Gene gfp to Improve the Efciency of Transformation and Allow the Transfer of Other Genes Directly Generating Marker-Free Plants ............................................................................ 140
5.2.2 Genetic Transformation of the Wild Potato Species Solanum chacoense ......... 143 5.2.3 Recent Advances in Improving Potato Quality by Gene Transfer ................. 145 5.2.4 Potato Plants as Bioreactors .................................................................................. 150 5.2.5 Recent Advances in Improving Resistance to Biotic Stress ............................. 151
5.2.5.1 Breeding Resistance to Late Blight by a Transgenic Approach ........ 151 5.2.5.2 Breeding Resistance to Viruses ............................................................. 152 5.2.5.3 Breeding Resistance to Colorado Potato Beetle .................................. 153 5.2.5.4 Breeding Resistance to Other Diseases and Pests .............................. 153
5.2.6 Advances in Improving Resistance to Abiotic Stress ....................................... 154 5.3 Improving Potato Crop by Cisgenesis ............................................................................ 154 5.4 A Few Remarks on Public Acceptance of GM Potatoes ............................................... 155 5.5 Funding ............................................................................................................................... 155 References ..................................................................................................................................... 155
monoploid potato clones, assembled 86% of the genome (844 Mb). It is assumed that the potato genome contains 39,031 protein-coding genes.
