DUNDEE United Kingdom—The Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (PGSC), an international team of scientists from industry and academia in 14 countries, has published the potato genome sequence in the journal Nature. The work is expected to help potato breeders to reduce the 10 to 12 years currently needed to breed new varieties and possibly will help prevent starvation in the developing countries.
Access to the potato genome sequence, the “genetic blueprint" of how a potato plant grows and reproduces, will revolutionize the breeding programs by assisting potato scientists to improve yield, quality, nutritional value and disease resistance of potato varieties. The research also revealed how expansion of particular gene families has contributed to the evolution of the potato tuber.
In late 2009, the PGSC released a preliminary draft sequence of the potato genome. The published genome assembly covers approximately 95% of the genes in potato, and was facilitated by radical advances in DNA sequencing technology that have occurred over the past few years.
Analysis of the genome sequence data has revealed that the potato genome contains approximately 39,000 protein coding genes. For over 90% of the genes the location on one of the 12 chromosomes is now known. The analysis also reveals that the potato genome has undergone extensive genome duplication though evolution. Potato is an outbreeding crop plant, and comparisons of DM and RH data shed light on the phenomenon of inbreeding depression, from which potato suffers acutely. The data also show clear evidence for how expansion of particular gene families has contributed to the evolution of the potato tuber.
