NewsIndustryHeat Stress Study Aims to Protect Potato Yields

Heat Stress Study Aims to Protect Potato Yields

-

[deck]Understanding this mechanism is an important step towards the future development of heat-tolerant potato plants.[/deck]

Temperature has a pronounced effect on the formation of potato tubers: when temperature is too high, potato plants form less or no tubers, which can greatly decrease yields. Scientists at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen Nuremberg (Germany) and the James Hutton Institute have uncovered the genetic mechanism behind the decrease of potato yields under high temperatures, which may help develop heat-tolerant varieties and protect future potato yields.

Potato is a major global food crop and is cultivated for its tubers, underground storage stems that are rich in starch and nutrients. To produce tubers, plants need lower temperature especially during the night. In this study, scientists identified a small non-coding ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule which represses the expression of the gene responsible for tuberisation.

Dr Csaba Hornyik, a potato geneticist based within the Institute’s Cell and Molecular Sciences group and co-author of the study, said: “Until now we did not know what prevented tuber formation in high heat conditions. Functional studies confirmed the role of this small RNA molecule: when we decreased its level in potato plants, we observed tuber formation even at higher temperatures, which proves the lack of small RNA induced tuber formation under unfavourable conditions.

“Our study demonstrated the relevance and importance of small RNAs in gene regulatory networks controlling key crop traits. Understanding this mechanism is an important step towards the future development of heat-tolerant potato plants.”

The study Post-transcriptional Regulation of FLOWERING LOCUS T Modulates Heat-Dependent Source-Sink Development in Potato, by Günter G. Lehretz, Sophia Sonnewald, Csaba Hornyik, José M. Corral and Uwe Sonnewald, is available online in Current Biology.

More information from:

Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 (direct line), +44 (0)344 928 5428 (switchboard) or +44 (0)7791 193918 (mobile).

Source: The James Hutton Institute

Trending This Week

To Get Healthy Potato Plants, We Have to Feed the Soil

Soil is not inert. Given the proper conditions, it is a vibrant ecosystem – full of life. In nature, soil is kept healthy by the...

The Unintended Limits of Organic Farming

0
I had a conversation some weeks ago that has really stuck with me. The conversation was with Joy Youwakim, an agroecology scientist at Biome...

It Takes Both Faith and Science to Grow a Potato

0
A colleague and I were talking recently, and she mentioned how much hope and faith goes into potato farming. Faith can have different definitions,...
Potatoes in storage

What Could We Learn From Europe About Storing Spuds?

While North America is a global leader in so many areas, I hope we’re smart enough to recognize that we’re not the only ones...

Mark Phillips is Working to Connect with Consumers to Create Trust in Ag

0
Through his Nuffield Scholar studies, Mark Phillips was able to learn how to better work with consumers to build trust in ag. When Mark Phillips...