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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308386
Title: Looking ahead…how biotechnology may change potato storage

Author
item Bethke, Paul
item Wiberley-Bradford, Amy
item ZHU, XIAOBIAO - University Of Wisconsin
item JIANG, JIMING - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: Common Tater
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/18/2014
Publication Date: 9/1/2014
Citation: Bethke, P.C., Wiberley-Bradford, A.E., Zhu, X., Jiang, J. 2014. Looking ahead…how biotechnology may change potato storage. Common Tater. 66(9):11-12.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We have been growing, harvesting, storing and characterizing tubers from transgenic potato plants for the past four years. The plants have low expression of the vacuolar invertase gene and were produced for research purposes by Jiming Jiang’s group at UW-Madison. We’ve analyzed sugars from over 2400 individual tubers, fried almost 5600 chips and a few hundred fresh-cut slabs, scored fried samples for color and defects, conducted enzyme assays and measured changes in gene expression. Along the way, we’ve been listening to and participating in the larger discussion about the value of genetically modified potato to the local and national potato industries. So what have we learned? How might this technology help us in the next five to ten years? If we look beyond the molecular details and the caveats that are inherent to small plot research trials, and focus instead on the big picture, what is the most important take home message that we’d like to share with those who store potatoes? It is this: biotechnology isn’t a magic wand that makes all problems go away, but it is likely to improve the quality of potatoes coming out of storage. Some of the potential benefits and limitations associated with using genetic modification to improve the quality of stored potatoes are illustrated using resistance to cold-induced sweetening, reduction in post-fry color defects, and reductions in black spot bruise as examples.