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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #382566
Research Project: Management of Genetic Resources and Associated Information in the U. S. Potato Genebank

Location: Vegetable Crops Research

Title: A metric for species representation in the US Potato Genebank

Author
item Bamberg, John
item DEL RIO, ALFONSO - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: American Journal of Potato Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/18/2021
Publication Date: 5/27/2021
Citation: Bamberg, J.B., Del Rio, A. 2021. A metric for species representation in the US Potato Genebank. American Journal of Potato Research. 98:263-265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-021-09833-4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-021-09833-4

Interpretive Summary: The potato crop is the world's most important vegetable, but could benefit from genetic improvement through breeding. Fortunately, there are many wild and cultivated potato relatives rich in useful traits. These are collected, preserved, evaluated and distributed from the US Potato Genebank at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. A major concern is that the genebank will keep the most rich concentration of useful genetics in the most efficient package for each species. In the present research, we used genetic markers to estimate how many populations are needed to capture most of the genetics of a given species. Specifically, we proposed a standard single calculated value that estimates loss of genetics one would expect in a random sample of 100 populations. This can serve as a simple number that compares species by how many populations are needed to represent them well in the genebank.

Technical Abstract: Crop genebanks keep a sample of the diversity in wild and cultivated germplasm. Knowing the structure of diversity within and among populations informs best decisions on efficient collecting, preservation and use. The US Potato Genebank has over 90 Solanum species, ranging in representation from only a few populations to several hundred. In a previous study we showed that populations of three species captured nearly all AFLP bands in polymorphic loci when represented by 100 populations that had been added over time to the genebank. In the current study we add analysis of two additional species and propose a simple metric, L100, to compare the expected marker diversity capture of 100 populations among different species. L100 detects when there is less population overlap and more rare markers, indicating that more populations are needed to capture the available diversity in a species.