ARS | Publication request: Predicting genetic richness at wild potato collection sites in southeastern Arizona

Submitted to: American Journal of Potato Research
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 26, 2011
Publication Date: February 1, 2012
Citation: Del Rio, A., Bamberg, J.B. 2012. Predicting genetic richness at wild potato collection sites in southeastern Arizona [abstract]. American Journal of Potato Research. Paper No. 34.

Technical Abstract: It takes a lot of time and money to collect even a fraction of the potential geographic range of wild potato species, so there is efficiency to gain if one could predict diversity “hot spots” for collecting. A previous experiment that used AFLPs to compare “remote” versus “easy” collection sites within three mountain ranges identified the Santa Catalina Mountains (CAT) of SE Arizona as making a particularly large contribution to the unique alleles in germplasm existing in the genebank, despite CAT collections being few and all close to roads. This situation motivated a collecting expedition in September 2009 to more thoroughly collect CAT. That expedition resulted in 17 samples, most from new sites never previously described or collected. A new AFLP study was done, examining the same three mountain ranges and including a fourth, and now adding the 2009 CAT collections. Results confirmed the prediction of CAT as a collecting “hot spot” since this location had nearly twice as many unique alleles as any other mountain range. Such studies exemplify the power of using DNA markers as a means to empirically reveal genetic richness, which then can serve as a guide for the most efficient allocation of resources for collecting, preservation, and evaluation of germplasm.