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94 POTATO GROWER | JANUARY 2017 Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In GENETICS | Industry Report Photos courtesy The Sainsbury Laboratory Late blight resistance genes isolated from wild potato relative The Gene Tamer A team of scientists from The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) and The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) in the UK have developed a new method to accelerate isolation of plant disease resistance genes. The team has also identified a new source of blight resistance genes in Solanum americanum, a wild relative of the potato. Plant pathogens such as late blight can evolve rapidly to overcome resistance genes, so scientists are constantly on the hunt for new resistance genes. Jonathan Jones and colleagues at his lab at TSL pioneered the new technique, called "SMRT RenSeq," and believe it will significantly reduce the time it takes to define new resistance genes. The team plans to stack several resistance genes together in one plant, making it much more difficult for pathogens to evolve to overcome the plant's defenses. It is hoped the deployment of this new technique will improve commercial crops and lead to higher yields, significantly reduced environmental impact and lower costs for the producer and, ultimately, the consumer. Potato late blight remains a major threat to potato and tomato production, with worldwide crop losses estimated to be in excess of $4.2 billion. Prevention measures and crop losses constitute a significant portion of growers' expenses each year; on-farm blight management can account for as much as half of the total cost of potato production. Managing the disease requires frequent application of fungicides, which incurs not only a significant economic cost but also environmental costs. Genetic resistance can be introduced into crop species, which reduces the need for chemical spraying. A wild relative of traditional potatoes may hold the key to minimizing damage caused to potato crops from late blight.