The major source of carbon for starch synthesis in reserve tissues such as the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber is SUC. In the developing tuber, Suc is hydrolyzed principally by Suc synthase (EC 2.4.1.13) to UDP-Glc and Fru (Preiss, 1982). Fructokinase (EC 2.7.1.4) is believed to catalyze the phosphorylation of the Fru released to yield Fru-6-P. This sugar phosphate can then be used to suppo...

Sweet potato belongs to Ipomoea series batatas and is thought to have originated in Central America and Northern South America. World sweet potato production is around 106 million tons in an area of about 8.1 million ha. Asia is the world’s largest sweet potato-producing region and China is the world’s leading sweet potato-producing country accounting for about 76% of production. Sweet potato h...

This research work reports In vitro direct selection of salt-tolerant callus cultures and subsequent plant regeneration in two potato cultivars (Cardinal and Desiree). Results have shown more than 50% reduction in relative fresh callus mass in the two potato cultivars exposed to 120 mM NaCl. Callus morphology correspondingly changed from off-white to blackishbrown at 120 mM to acutely-necrotic ...

Zebra chip (ZC), an economically important disease of potato, is caused by 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) transmitted by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc) (Hemiptera: Triozidae). Currently, using insecticides against potato psyllid is the only means to manage ZC. However, the ability of the potato psyllid to rapidly transmit Lso represents a substantial challenge i...

Potato is one of the four most important food crop plants worldwide and is strongly affected by drought. The following two pairs of potato cultivars, which are related in ancestry but show different drought tolerances, were chosen for comparative gene expression studies: Gwiazda/Oberon and Tajfun/Owacja. Comparative RNA-seq analyses of gene expression differences in the transcriptomes obtained ...

The abundance of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), in organically grown potato did not change significantly in response to increasing rates of dehydrated poultry manure. However, peaks of abundance of larvae were shifted forward in time in response to the high rate of organic fertilizer. Tests using excised foliage showed that the shift was not caused by differential ...

The use of in vitro potato shoot cultures for protoplast isolation is desirable for consistent protoplast qualities. Ethylene build-up in the culture vessels causes problems for leaf growth (e.g. decreasing leaf surface, dry weight and chlorophyll) in shoot culture. Fifty to one hundred μM Silver thiosulfate (STS) produced a larger leaf area as a source of plant material for protoplast isolatio...

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is relatively vulnerable to abiotic stress conditions such as drought, but the tolerance mechanisms for such stresses in potato are largely unknown. To identify stress-related factors in potato, we previously carried out a genetic screen of potato plants exposed to abiotic environmental stress conditions using reverse northern-blot analysis. A cDNA encoding a putative...

α-Solanine and α-chaconine, steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) found in potato (Solanum tuberosum), are among the best-known secondary metabolites in food crops. At low concentrations in potato tubers, SGAs are distasteful; however, at high concentrations, SGAs are harmful to humans and animals. Here, we show that POTATO GLYCOALKALOID BIOSYNTHESIS1 (PGA1) and PGA2, two genes that encode cytochrome...