A B S T R A C TMolecular markers based on Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) are a very efficient tool for potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotype identification and can be very useful for germplasm conservation and management. With the purpose of incorporate this technology into the potato breeding program of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) Chile, a set of 26 SSR markers was evaluated on a sample of 71 potato genotypes. Each marker was characterized for number and combinations of alleles, scoring quality, polymorphic information content (PIC) and discrimination power (D). From the total, only 21 SSR markers showed up scoreable products and the allele number ranged between 2 and 17. The observed allelic combinations among the different potato genotypes ranged from 2 to 47; however, unique genotypes detected by each SSR marker ranged from 0 to 38. The observed (Do) and expected (Dj) discriminatory power ranged from 0.23 to 0.98 and from 0.43 to 0.92, respectively. The seven SSR markers which showed the highest Do scores were STM1009 (0.98), STM1020 (0.97), STM0031 (0.97), STM2013 (0.96), STM1008 (0.94), STM1052 (0.93) and STM0019 (0.91). The STM1009, STM1020 and STM1008 markers are multi-loci SSR, where each one amplifies more than one locus of the potato genome. The utilization of the multi-loci type of marker, or combinations of several SSR markers in either PCR-multiplex or pseudo-multiplex reactions, are good options to increase the speed and reduce the cost of SSR markers application.

The Potato virus Y (PVY) is distributed worldwide and is one of the most damaging viruses in terms of yield reduction in the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crop with losses sometimes reaching 80%. To reduce its impact, there is great interest in obtaining varieties carrying the Ryadg gene that provides extreme resistance to this virus. This could be facilitated with SCAR (sequence characterized amplified region) RYSC3 by molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS). This study compared the effectiveness of the RYSC3 marker in the detection of the Ryadg gene vs. biological tests on populations of the Potato Breeding Program of the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), Chile. Within the group of 71 progenitors, 30 plants had some kind of resistance to the virus, of which 17 were carriers of the RYSC3 marker. These genotypes came from Cornell University, Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP), Peru, and INIA. The analysis of 460 progenies which came from three different crosses showed that 299 individuals amplified the RYSC3 marker and had the resistant phenotype, with the exception of one plant. Within the group of non-RYSC3 carrier plants, a significant percentage (22.5%) showed a resistant phenotype, indicating that these progenies segregate other R genes (e.g., hypersensitivity) that reduce biological test effectiveness. This high effectiveness (99.7%) in the detection of the Ryadg gene in both parents and segregating progenies, showed that this marker is appropriate in assisting selection of genotypes with extreme PVY-resistance in the potato breeding programs.