Two of ENDURE’s partners have reported significant advances in exploring the genomes of important crops which could help lead to the creation of more disease-resistant varieties. France’s INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) and its partners have published the first genome sequence of a grapevine rootstock while WUR (Wageningen University & Research) in the Netherlands, working with scale-up Solynta, has published the most complete genome sequence for potatoes to date.
INRA reports that its researchers worked alongside colleagues from the Institute of Vine & Wine Science (ISVV) at the University of Bordeaux, to assemble and annotate the genome of the American native Vitis riparia Gloire de Montpellier (pictured right). Until now, it says, only the European variety Vitis vinifera had been sequenced.
INRA reports: “In most vineyards around the world, grapevine is grown grafted onto rootstocks, since they offer resistance to soil-dwelling pests - like Phylloxera - and improve its capacity to adapt to different environments. This high-quality sequence opens new avenues to identify genes of agronomic interest that do not exist in the European variety (disease and pest resistance, environmental adaptation) including some specific to roots.
“This sequence will also allow experts to envision new approaches to improve grapevines and their cultivation, which are highly threatened by pathogens, constrained growing conditions, and climate change.”
Researchers are making a genome browser available to the entire scientific community, allowing users to move through the genome virtually and search for specific genes in order to visualise their location and composition. This tool will soon be available on INRA’s Joint Research Unit for Ecophysiology and Grape Functional Genomics website (see below for details). Similarly, WUR and Solynta are making their sequence and plant material available to the research community (under specific conditions). They hope this may result in a potato that is more resistant to heat or drought or has greater disease resistance.
WUR reports: “Reading the genome structure of the potato is extremely tricky, however, as a regular potato consists of four genomes, which makes it difficult to determine the position of the genes. The recent research applied a diploid real potato plant with only one genome, a so-called homozygote, which makes it easier to read and compare the DNA base sequence. This plant, Solyntus (pictured right), was produced as part of Solynta’s hybrid potato breeding programme.”
Richard Visser, professor at WUR’s plant breeding department, told the WUR website: “The previously available genome sequence, which I also helped establish, consisted of approximately 125,000 small segments. The genome we are presenting now comprises 185 large segments. This is a significant improvement which was achieved via a combination of unique plant material and new sequencing and analysis techniques.
“While the previous sequence involved a wild variety of the potato, we have now used an actual potato plant. I hope - and expect - that our work will eventually lead to a more efficient and faster potato breeding process.”
Solynta’s R&D director Pim Lindhout added: “This concrete result of a public-private partnership proves that we can describe and cross-breed new properties faster together. Two years ago, we showed that we could make a potato plant that is disease-resistant within two years. This latest breakthrough means we can also explore and utilise other traits more quickly. I am convinced that this will lead to more sustainable potato production far sooner.”
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