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Collaborative project: Climate-tolerant potato by eliminating siRNA-mediated inhibition of tuber formation - Subproject A (KLIKA)
Project
Project code: 281D114A21
Contract period: 01.04.2023
- 31.05.2026
Budget: 284,360 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: plant genetic resources, abiotic stress, climate change adaptation, plant breeding, crop production, potato
The climate change-induced rise in temperature causes increasing problems for potato production in southern regions of Germany, but also in other parts of the world. Temperature sensitivity affects both tuber formation and tuber quality. As a result, fewer tubers of low quality are being harvested. To counteract this, the collaborative project aims to increase the heat tolerance of relevant potato varieties by exploiting natural allelic variation or by increasing genetic diversity through chemical mutagenesis. We identified the SES locus as a target gene for improving heat tolerance. The gene encodes a small RNA (sRNA) that suppresses the formation of the tuber-inducing SP6A protein. Inhibition of SES activity facilitated tuber formation at air temperatures that suppress tuber formation in conventional cultivars. To date, results were obtained by introducing a transgene into the potato cultivar Solara. In this proof-of-concept approach, the positive effect of a SES knock-down was clearly demonstrated under greenhouse conditions in this variety. However, key issues still need to be addressed to translate the results into practice. For example, it is unclear whether the approach can be applied variety-independently and whether knock-out approaches are feasible. It is also unclear if there are dose-dependent effects and if natural genetic variation (e.g. for SES and SP6A) exists. Since breeding of new potato varieties is very time consuming, the mentioned questions need to be answered before entering a breeding program. For this purpose, genome editing techniques will be used and targeted mutant alleles will be searched, produced and tested. The results allow to estimate the chances of success and help to minimize the breeding risks.
Section overview
Subjects
- Plant Breeding
- Climate Change
