The potato industry benefits from new tuber research published in The Plant Cell
Researchers have discovered a game changer for the potato industry.
According to a new study published in a leading international society journal published by the American Society of Plant Biologists, a small genetic element is the cause of a major production problem in potatoes.
“Our manuscript reveals the mystery of “cold-induced sweetening” (CIS), the most troublesome and expensive problem for the potato processing industry,” explained Jiming Jiang, Corresponding Author of “Molecular dissection of an intronic enhancer governing cold-induced expression of the vacuolar invertase gene in potato” published February 20th in The Plant Cell. “Interestingly, it is controlled by a 200-bp sequence hidden in an intron of the potato vacuolar invertase gene.”
Potatoes, one of the most widely consumed and produced food crops worldwide, are typically stored for many months after the harvesting season. Farmers use cold temperatures to mitigate diseases, sprouting and softening.
However, another physiological process occurs when potatoes are exposed to cold. Cold temperatures encourage tubers to turn starch into sugar. When those potatoes are removed from storage and fried, accumulated sugars cause them to produce acrylamide and turn an undesirable dark brown-black color.
In the study, Jiang and co-authors identified several DNA motifs in the 200-bp sequence that bind transcription factors involved in the plant cold stress response. The researchers found mutating these small, specific sequences significantly decreased the cold-stress response in the potatoes.
This discovery solves a long-standing agricultural problem and sets the groundwork for easily improving it with gene editing.
“I was hired as a potato breeder by the Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995,” added Jiang. ”Improving the CIS trait, based on traditional breeding as well as biotech approach, was one of the top goals for the breeding program.”
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Excellent paper with a great potential!
Congrats!
This article is a game-changer for potato production! The discovery of the genetic element causing cold-induced sweetening (CIS) is a huge breakthrough. By identifying and potentially editing the 200-bp sequence in the vacuolar invertase gene, researchers can significantly reduce this issue, leading to better quality potatoes and less wastage.
How do you think this breakthrough will impact potato farming and food production? What other crops could benefit from similar genetic insights?