b"INDUSTRY NEWS RESEARCH NEWS modest because of this. Hybrid breeding, which is a non-GMO Potato Blight Pathogen Cuts into Potato Plant to Infect It technique, allows for potato varieties to be developed quicker.Researchers have discovered the potato blight pathogen uses aIn hybrid breeding potato varieties are grown from true seed sharp knife to cut into potato plants and infect them, a newsinstead of the traditional bulky seed tubers. These seeds are release from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) says. disease free and require less chemical protection after they have Experts in plant pathology, cell biology and physics atbeen planted, the release says.WUR teamed up to research how the late blight pathogen,However, to fully capitalize on hybrid breeding the potato self-Phytophthora infestans, gains entry to potato plants and thencompatibility needed to be found, the release notes. For hybrid infects them, the release says. Despite being microscopicallybreeding two parental lines must be crossed through inbreeding, small the pathogen has been able to get through plant'sbut almost all potatoes don't allow for inbreeding as they have protective layers. become self-incompatible.We discovered that Phytophthora uses clever tricks toWe are now able to overcome this through the Sli gene in sharpen its tubular infection structure to then cut through thepotato, Richard Visser, professor with the plant breeding group surface of the plant with a sharp knife. Using this strategy,at WUR, says in the release. Self-compatibility as such and Phytophthora is able to infect its host, without brute force andalso the location on chromosome 12 were already known for with minimal consumption of energy, Joris Sprakel, a WURsome time, but so far the gene encoding this trait was unknown professor in physical chemistry and soft matter, says in theand had not been isolated and characterized. Through genetic release. analysis and genome sequencing weve succeeded in doing this.To protect plants against this infection researchers are testingSolynta has already starting using the Sli gene by crossing options which are non-chemical and not using plant breeding.previous self-incompatible diploid lines with a Sli gene donor.In one test the research team sprayed the leaves of potato plantsWith these new insights, we may be able to discover new with a non-toxic and inexpensive substance which removedvariants of Sli that could improve our ability to select for the leafs stickiness, the release notes. It resulted in a reductionimproved taste, water use efficiency, disease resistances and of around 65 per cent in the level of infectionit even roseother characteristics for our ever-changing world, Ernst-Jan towards 100 per cent in an optimized trial on artificial surfaces. Eggers, genetics researcher for Solynta, explains in the release.The research also showed a new methodology for testingaThe results were published in the scientific journal Nature kind of rapid testing method which can reveal the effect andCommunications.efficiency of pesticides in a rapid, accurate and inexpensive way, the report says. These novel tools could also make significant contributions to the ongoing battle against plant diseases.Their findings were published in Nature Microbiology. RNA Gene Manipulation Allows for 50 Per Cent Potato Yield IncreaseBy manipulating RNA, it can allow potato yield to dramatically increase and improve drought tolerance, a group of scientists New Potato Gene Which Will Speed Up Hybrid from the University of Chicago, Peking University and Guizhou Breeding Found University, have found.Sli (S-locus inhibitor), the self-compatibility potato gene, hasInitial tests found that by adding a gene encoding for a protein been identified, cloned and characterized by researchers, Solyntacalled FTO to both rice and potato plants increased their yield says in a news release. by 50 per cent in field tests, a news release on the discovery Researchers at hybrid potato breeding company Solyntasays. The plants grew significantly larger, produced longer root worked with Wageningen University & Research (WUR) to makesystems and were better able to tolerate drought stressthe rate this discovery. This finding will allow breeders to speed upof photosynthesis was also increased.hybrid breeding by being less opportunistic and more focused inThe change really is dramatic, Chuan He, professor at the their work, the release says. University of Chicago, says in the release. Whats more, it The release notes traditional potato breeding is a slowworked with almost every type of plant we tried it with so far, process spanning 10 to 15 years due to its complex genome.and it's a very simple modification to make.Improvements in key traits such as disease resistance, adaptationThe RNA molecule reads DNA and make proteins carry out to climate change and yield, over the last 100 years have beentasks. It also can regulate which parts of the blueprint are used, DID you know that SODIUM will COMPETE with POTASSIUM for plant UPTAKE?52SPUD SMARTTCCOMOM Summer 2021 WWW.UAP.CA52 SPUDSMAR Fall 2021"