Reinventing Potato as a Diploid Inbred Line–Based Crop

The third most important food crop worldwide, potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a tetraploid outcrossing species propagated from tubers. Breeders have long been challenged by polyploidy, heterozygosity, and asexual reproduction. It has been assumed that tetraploidy is essential for high yield, that the creation of inbred potato is not feasible, and that propagation by seed tubers is ideal. In this paper, we question those assumptions and propose to convert potato into a diploid inbred line–based crop propagated by true seed. Although a conversion of this magnitude is unprecedented, the possible genetic gains from a breeding system based on inbred lines and the seed production benefits from a sexual propagation system are too large to ignore. We call on leaders of public and private organizations to come together to explore the feasibility of this radical and exciting new strategy in potato breeding. S.H. Jansky, USDA–ARS Vegetable Crops Research Unit, Dep. of Horticulture, Univ. of Wisconsin, 1575 Linden Dr., Madison, WI; A.O. Charkowski, Dep. of Plant Pathology, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; D.S. Douches, Dep. of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, MI; G. Gusmini, Pepsico, St. Paul, MN; C. Richael, Simplot Plant Sciences, Boise, ID; P.C. Bethke and D.M. Spooner, USDA–ARS Vegetable Crops Research Unit, Dep. of Horticulture, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; R.G. Novy, USDA– ARS Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research Unit, Aberdeen, ID; H. De Jong, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada (retired); W.S. De Jong, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; J.B. Bamberg USDA–ARS, Dep. of Horticulture, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, and US Potato Genebank, Sturgeon Bay, WI; A.L. Thompson, Dep. of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State Univ.; B. Bizimungu, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; D.G. Holm, Dep. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State Univ., San Luis Valley Research Center, Center, CO; C.R. Brown, USDA– ARS, Prosser, WA; K.G. Haynes, USDA–ARS, Beltsville, MD; V.R. Sathuvalli, Dep. of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State Univ., Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Hermiston, OR; R.E. Veilleux, Dep. of Horticulture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA; J.C. Miller, Jr., Dep. of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX; J.M. Bradeen, Dep. of Plant Pathology, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN; J. Jiang, Dep. of Horticulture, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. G. Gusmini is an employee of PepsiCo, Inc.; the views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of PepsiCo Inc. C. Richael is an employee of Simplot Plant Sciences; the views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of Simplot Plant Sciences. Received 3 Dec. 2015. Accepted 25 Jan. 2016. *Corresponding author (shelley.jansky@ars. usda.gov; [email protected]). Abbreviations: CIP, International Potato Center; ILs, introgression lines; RILs, recombinant inbred lines; TPS, true potato seed. Published in Crop Sci. 56:1–11 (2016). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2015.12.0740 © Crop Science Society of America | 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. Published April 15, 2016