Biotech Potatoes in the 21st Century: 20 Years Since the First Biotech Potato

Abstract

Potato is the world's most important vegetable crop, with nearly 400 million tons produced worldwide every year, lending to stability in food supply and socioeconomic impact. In general, potato is an intensively managed crop, requiring irrigation, fertilization, and frequent pesticide applications in order to obtain the highest yields possible. Important traits are easy to find in wild relatives of potato, but their introduction using traditional breeding can take 15-20 years. This is due to sexual incompatibility between some wild and cultivated species, a desire to remove undesirable wild species traits from adapted germplasm, and difficulty in identifying broadly applicable molecular markers. Fortunately, potato is amenable to propagation via tissue culture and it is relatively easy to introduce new traits using currently available biotech transformation techniques. For these reasons, potato is arguably the crop that can benefit most by modern biotechnology. The benefits of biotech potato, such as limited gene flow to conventionally grown crops and weedy relatives, the opportunity for significant productivity and nutritional quality gains, and reductions in production cost and environmental impact, have the potential to influence the marketability of newly developed varieties. In this review we will discuss current and past efforts to develop biotech potato varieties, traits that could be impacted, and the potential effects that biotech potato could have on the industry.Resumen La papa es el cultivo hortícola más importante en el mundo, con cerca de 400 millones de toneladas producidas a nivel mundial anualmente, acreditando la estabilidad en el suministro de alimentos e impacto socioeconómico. En general, la papa es un cultivo manejado intensivamente, que requiere riego, fertilización y aplicaciones frecuentes de plaguicidas para obtener los más altos rendimientos posibles. Los caracteres importantes son fáciles de encontrar en parientes silvestres de la papa, pero su introducción usando el mejoramiento tradicional puede llevar de 15 a 20 años. Esto es debido a la incompatibilidad sexual entre algunas especies silvestres y cultivadas, el deseo para eliminar características indeseables de las especies silvestres del germoplasma adaptado, y la dificultad en la identificación de marcadores moleculares aplicables ampliamente. Afortunadamente, la papa es receptiva a la propagación por cultivo de tejidos y es relativamente fácil la introducción de nuevos caracteres usando técnicas biotecnológicas de transformación actualmente disponibles. Por estas razones, la papa es probablemente el cultivo que se puede beneficiar mayormente por la biotecnología moderna. Los beneficios de la papa biotecnológica, como el flujo genético limitado a cultivos que se siembran convencionalmente y a los parientes como malezas, la oportunidad para productividad significativa y logros en calidad nutricional, y las reducciones en los costos de producción e impacto ambiental, tienen el potencial para influenciar la comercialización...

The Multiple Signals That Control Tuber Formation

“…Based on calories generated for human consumption per acre, it is the most efficient food crop on the planet. Recent advances in biotechnology have established potato as an ideal crop for improvement through genetic enhancement, but increased yield has still not been addressed through biotech approaches (Halterman et al, 2016). With a better understanding of the signals that control tuberization, a molecular approach to yield enhancement may soon be within reach.…”

Farmers′ perceptions, believes, knowledge and management practices of potato pests in South-Kivu Province, eastern of Democratic Republic of Congo

“…Farmers 2012). Important traits are easy to find in wild relatives of potato, but their introduction using traditional breeding can take 15-20 years (Halterman et al 2016).…”

“…The crop is the world's most important crop, with nearly 400 million tons produced worldwide every year, lending to stability in food supply and socioeconomic impact (Halterman et al 2016, Okello et al 2017, Scott and Suarez 2012, Steyn et al 2014, Pacifico and Paris 2016, Scott and Suarez 2011, Venter 2006, Lutaladio and Castaldi 2009, Steyn et al 2014.…”

Contributions of biotechnology to meeting future food and environmental security needs

“…Marketing consents for import of Innate potatoes are currently being pursued in at least a further eight different countries. 20 years on since the first biotechnology potato, the future use of biotechnology to enhance potato performance and provide pathogen protection in the world's most important vegetable crop seems secure (24).…”