Potato Grower

68 POTATO GROWER | JANUARY 2022 DIGGIN' IN BREEDING | By Crop Science Society of America Potatoes are the most consumed vegetable in the United States. According to USDA statistics, U.S. farmers grew more than 42 billion pounds of potatoes in 2019. That's 128 pounds of potatoes per person. But farmers growing potatoes face many challenges. One tiny yet devastating pest is the Colorado potato beetle. It can cause immense damage to potato crops. It's also notorious for becoming resistant to chemical insecticides. In a new study published in Crop Science, researchers describe genetic tools to develop potato varieties with improved natural resistance to the Colorado potato beetle. They also developed key genetic resources—called recombinant inbred lines—that will aid in breeding new varieties. The Colorado potato beetle can devastate potato production. But some wild relatives of domesticated potato have natural defenses against these beetles. These wild plants make their own beetle-killing compounds. "Some of these compounds can kill Colorado potato beetle larvae," says Natalie Kaiser, a researcher at Michigan State University and lead author of Developing natural resistance to pests can increase yields Breeding Resistance the study. "These compounds also dramatically reduce adult beetle feeding." But consuming large amounts of these compounds can have adverse health effects in humans. While beetles chomp on potato leaves, humans obviously do not. "So, it is desirable to create potato varieties that make these anti-beetle compounds only in their leaves," says Kaiser. But generating this beetle-resistant variety of potato has been a challenge of many layers. One challenge is testing varieties for beetle resistance. Field trials can take months if not years. They can also be costly and resource-intensive. Kaiser and colleagues developed a research shortcut. They compared the chemical profile of hundreds of individual potatoes with their resistance to Colorado potato beetle in the field. "We found chemical signatures that could predict resistance to Colorado potato beetles," says Kaiser. "Breeders can select resistant potatoes with a simple chemical measurement instead of having to conduct field trials." This method could save time and money. Another obstacle in breeding beetle- resistant potatoes is the sheer amount of genetic information breeders need. "There are several genes controlling the types and amounts of anti-beetle compounds that any given potato variety will produce," says Kaiser. It is challenging to track all those genes during breeding. Potato breeders also have to keep in mind other traits, like yields and tuber appearance. "There are approximately 40 important traits to consider when developing a new potato variety," says Kaiser. "Assembling the right combination of genes controlling all these traits is crucial." This process is complicated by the fact that potato varieties often have four copies of every gene., This characteristic is called The fruit of wild potato variety Solanum chacoense, which is naturally diploid. It has been bred to produce seeds and fruit upon self-pollination. Photo by Luca M. Kaiser Natalie Kaiser assesses the resistance of potato lines in a field naturally infested with Colorado potato beetles. Photo by Natalie Kaiser

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