Wound-healing responses vary across different cellular regions of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers

Authors: SARKAR, DIPAYAN - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Dogramaci, Munevver

Submitted to: Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/25/2026
Publication Date: 6/26/2026
Citation: Sarkar, D., Dogramaci, M. 2026. Wound-healing responses vary across different cellular regions of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. 237. Article 111519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2026.111519.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2026.111519

Interpretive Summary: Potato tubers are prone to wounding related damages during harvest, post-harvest handling and transportation. Without rapid healing, wounded tubers generally lose their integrity and storage qualities, leading to considerable economic losses. Potato tuber wound healing responses vary due to several factors, such as, postharvest storage conditions, genetic potential among cultivars, and age of tubers. However, there is a significant knowledge gap in understanding the potential variations in wound healing responses across different cellular regions of potato tubers, as different tuber regions are not uniform in cell structure and metabolic composition. Therefore, we investigated early stage wound healing responses separately for three different cellular regions (outer layer, middle layer, and inner core) of potato tuber using two agronomically important cultivars and a standard wound healing experimental model. Results revealed that tissues of the tuber core heal at faster rate when compared to tissues of the outer layer. The differences in wound healing specific metabolite content and biochemical regulations also highlighted the scientific reason for varying wound healing responses across these different cellular regions of potato tubers. Insights of this research would help to develop effective strategies for mitigating wound related postharvest losses of potato tubers supporting U.S. potato growers and stakeholders.

Technical Abstract: Wounding of potato tuber severely affects tuber integrity and makes tuber susceptible to pathogen infection and decay leading to crop loss. Potato tubers have natural wound healing (WH) capacity. However, tuber tissues are composed of different cellular regions with varying cellular structure and metabolic compositions, which might impact their overall WH rate. The objective of this research was to investigate the formation of suberin barriers and protective metabolic profiles across different cellular regions of potato tubers. A mechanical wounding model was used to investigate WH responses of cvs. Russet Burbank and Dakota Russet for three different cellular regions: i) cortex, ii) outer medulla, and ii) inner medulla. Disc tissues were excised separately from each cellular region and allowed to heal (at 21°C and 95% relative humidity) for 8 days. Tissues were collected at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 14 days after wounding for microscopic and biochemical analyses. Microscopic observation indicated inner medulla had faster suberin polyphenolic and polyaliphatic deposition, and greater formation of suberized phellem cells compared to tissues from the cortex region indicating enhanced WH response. Higher activities of rate limiting phenylpropanoid enzymes and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, along with higher soluble phenolics, asparagine, glutamine, and reducing sugars were observed in tissues from the inner medulla compared to tissues from the cortex region and specifically in cv. Russet Burbank. Results of this study suggest that changes in phenylpropanoid regulation and their alignment with primary and secondary metabolites impact varying WH processes across different cellular regions of potato tubers and response is cultivar specific.