Genetic architecture of tuber-bound free amino acids in potato and effect of growing environment on the amino acid content

Abstract

Free amino acids in potato tubers contribute to their nutritional value and processing quality. Exploring the natural variation in their accumulation in tubers across diverse genetic backgrounds is critical to potato breeding programs aiming to enhance or partition their distribution effectively. This study assessed variation in the tuber-bound free amino acids in a diversity panel of tetraploid potato clones developed and maintained by the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program to explore their genetic basis and to obtain genomic-estimated breeding values for applied breeding purposes. Free amino acids content was evaluated in tubers of 217 tetraploid potato clones collected from Dalhart, Texas in 2019 and 2020, and Springlake, Texas in 2020. Most tuber amino acids were not affected by growing location, except histidine and proline, which were significantly lower (− 59.0%) and higher (+ 129.0%), respectively, at Springlake, Texas (a location that regularly suffers from abiotic stresses, mainly high-temperature stress). Single nucleotide polymorphism markers were used for genome-wide association studies and genomic selection of clones based on amino acid content. Most amino acids showed significant variations among potato clones and moderate to high heritabilities. Principal component analysis separated fresh from processing potato market classes based on amino acids distribution patterns. Genome-wide association studies discovered 33 QTL associated with 13 free amino acids. Genomic-estimated breeding values were calculated and are recommended for practical potato breeding applications to select parents and advance clones with the desired free amino acid content.

Revitalizing agriculture: next-generation genotyping and -omics technologies enabling molecular prediction of resilient traits in the Solanaceae family

“…As for other species, several studies have identified SNPs associated with agronomical and quality traits, such as tuber shape, eye depth, and fry color retention during low-temperature storage ( Sharma et al., 2018 ; Byrne et al., 2020 ; Zhang et al., 2022a ; Pandey et al., 2023 ; Zhao et al., 2023 ). Moreover, multiple genetic markers and candidate genes aimed at enhancing disease resistance to late blight have been identified by Wang et al.…”

Variation and genetic basis of mineral content in potato tubers and prospects for genomic selection

“…Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been used to dissect the genetic basis of traits in potatoes (Rosyara et al, 2016;Sharma et al, 2018). GWAS has been conducted in potatoes for protein content (Klaassen et al, 2019), scab resistance (Kaiser et al, 2020), root and stolon traits (Yousaf et al, 2021), tuber traits (Pandey et al, 2022), tuber bruising (Angelin-Bonnet et al, 2023), and tuber-bound free amino acids (Pandey et al, 2023b), etc. However, there has been no prior instance of GWAS for mineral content in potato tubers based on our knowledge.…”