Advances in Conservation and Use of Potato Genetic Resources

The potato is the world’s most important non-cereal food, with a global production of 370 million tonnes. The cultivated potato, Solanum tuberosum L. (AABB, 2n = 4x = 48, genome size 844 Mb), belongs to Solanum section Petota and was domesticated in the South American Andes about 8.000 to 10.000 years ago. The Petota section is characterized by a broad genetic diversity involving introgressions, interspecific hybridization events, auto‐ and allopolyploidy, and a high degree of morphological similarities. Overall, 7 cultivated and 228 wild species (Hawkes, 1990) or 4 cultivated and 107 wild species (Spooner et al., 2014) were described and are conserved through 82,000 accessions in 89 institutions. Depending on the genetic material, clonal plants are preserved in field genebanks and/or in vitro slow-growth storage and/or cryopreservation or as seeds in cold storage facilities. However, challenges for efficient identification of collection gaps, conservation, and usage of potato genetic resources in potato breeding programs, are the differences in taxonomic classification, the limited information, and advances in characterization, evaluation, sequencing, and conservation approaches.

The aim of this research topic is to highlight the latest developments and strategies in the conservation and use of potato genetic resources. It addresses different scientific fields, i.e. plant physiology, genetics, functional genomics, phenomics, taxonomy, computer modeling, and database management, and will improve our understanding in:

-conservation and propagation approaches, including field maintenance, on-farm management, in vitro maintenance, seed propagation, and preservation, cryopreservation;
-taxonomic classification;
-analysis of collection gaps;
-conservation data management;
-seed and tuber quality;
-phenotyping of morphological traits and abiotic and biotic stress response;
-potato breeding;

We welcome submissions on the following research themes but are not limited to:
-Status quo and advances in ex-situ and in situ conservation management of potato genetic resources
-Assessment of potato germplasm and genetic diversity;
-Identification of collection gaps
-(High-throughput) phenotyping analysis
-Genetic basis and QTLs/genes mapping for important breeding traits, including disease and stress resistance, tuber quality, yield, and seed-related traits
-Functional analysis of genes and genomic research
-Advances in genetic improvement research related to yield, quality, and stress tolerance

Please note that descriptive studies and those defining gene families or descriptive collection of transcripts, proteins, or metabolites, will not be considered for review unless they are expanded and provide mechanistic and/or physiological insights into the biological system or process being studied.