Generation of a Potato Radiation Mutation System to Analyse the Features of Radiation Mutant RM1

Abstract

Potatoes are widely planted worldwide and are the third most important food crop. Mutation breeding involves the artificial use of various physical and chemical factors to induce plants to produce new genotypes. In this study, we established a potato radiation mutation system and analysed the features of a radiation mutant. The LD50 of the potato callus was 24.8 Gy after linear regression analysis. The radiation mutant 1 (RM1) showed significant dwarfism and strong growth; RM1 plants decreased in height by 31%. The root and leaf fresh weights of the RM1 increased 1.8-fold compared to the wild-type (WT, Chuanyu 10) cultivar. Leaf microstructure results showed that the thicknesses of the upper epidermis and lower epidermis of RM1 plants were greater than those of the WT cultivar. Transcriptome analysis of seeding revealed 1179 upregulated and 1641 downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in RM1 plants. Further analysis showed that the expression levels of WRKY and MYB transcription factors, CIPK and MAPK protein kinases, ABC transporters, hormones, and ROS pathway genes were altered. These results provide theoretical support for potato breeding research and enrich the functional network of vital breeding-related genes.