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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294750
Title: Insertional mutagenesis using Tnt1 retrotransposon in potato

Author
item SUANGPAN, SAOWAPA - University Of Wisconsin
item ZHANG, WENLI - University Of Wisconsin
item WU, YUFANG - University Of Wisconsin
item Jansky, Shelley
item JIANG, JIMING - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: Plant Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/24/2013
Publication Date: 9/1/2013
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/57934
Citation: Suangpan, S., Zhang, W., Wu, Y., Jansky, S.H., Jiang, J. 2013. Insertional mutagenesis using Tnt1 retrotransposon in potato. Plant Physiology. 163(1):21-29.

Interpretive Summary: Potato is the third most important food crop in the world, with total production below only rice and wheat. However, genetics and genomics research of potato has lagged behind many major crop species. Here we report a successful application of using the Tnt1 retrotransposon, identified in tobacco originally, as an insertional mutagen in potato. The Tnt1 retrotransposon was introduced into a highly homozygous and self-compatible clone, 523-3, of a diploid wild potato species Solanum chacoense. Transposition of the Tnt1 elements introduced into the 523-3 clone can be efficiently induced by tissue culture and the Tnt1 elements preferentially insert into genic regions. We demonstrate that this insertional mutagenesis system can be expanded to the genome-wide level to potentially tag every gene in the potato genome, which will be a key resource for future genetics and genomics research for the entire potato research community.

Technical Abstract: Potato is the third most important food crop in the world. However, genetics and genomics research of potato has lagged behind many major crop species due to its autotetraploidy and a highly heterogeneous genome. Insertional mutagenesis using T-DNA or transposable elements, which is available in several crops, has not been established in potato. Here we report a successful application of using the Tnt1 retrotransposon as an insertional mutagen in potato. The Tnt1 retrotransposon was introduced into a highly homozygous and self-compatible clone, 523-3, of a diploid wild potato species Solanum chacoense. Transposition of the Tnt1 elements introduced into 523-3 can be efficiently induced by tissue culture. Tnt1 preferentially inserted into genic regions in the potato genome and the insertions were stable during sexual reproduction, making Tnt1 an ideal mutagen in potato. Several distinct phenotypes associated with plant statue and leaf morphology were discovered in mutation screening from a total of 38 families derived from Tnt1-containing lines. We demonstrate that the insertional mutagenesis system based on Tnt1 and the 523-3 clone can be expanded to the genome-wide level to potentially tag every gene in the potato genome.