Location: Crop Improvement and Genetics Research
2019 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. A versatile and robust gene stacking system for improved potato biotechnology. The genetic improvement of important crops, like potato, is one of the most effective ways to increase agricultural productivity. It has typically been difficult to genetically engineer improvements in complex traits like yield or disease resistance that require the action of multiple genes. ARS researchers in Albany, California, demonstrated that a novel technology called Gene Assembly in Agrobacterium by Nucleic acid Transfer using Recombinase technology (GAANTRY) allows the efficient assembly and introduction of multiple genes into potato. The system was shown to efficiently generate high-quality genetically engineered potato plants that carried all of the introduced genes and exhibited the desired traits. This technological breakthrough will enable the use of crop biotechnology to effectively improve complex traits in potato and related crop plants.
Review Publications
Hopper, J.V., McCue, K.F., Pratt, P.D., Duchesne, P., Grosholz, E.D., Hufbauer, R. 2019. Into the weeds: matching importation history to genetic consequences and pathways in two widely used biological control agents. Evolutionary Applications. 12(4):773-790. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12755.
Alabed, D.F., Huo, N., Gu, Y.Q., McCue, K.F., Thomson, J.G. 2019. Draft genome sequence of serratia sp. 1D1416. Microbiology Resource Announcements. 8(3):e01354-18. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.01354-18.
Huo, N., Gu, Y.Q., McCue, K.F., Alabed, D., Thomson, J.G. 2019. Complete genome sequence of Agrobacterium fabrum strain 1D159. Microbiology Resource Announcements. 8(19):e00207-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00207-19.
