13 ERA-CAPS Future-proofing potato: Mechanisms and markers for global-warming tolerant ideotypes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Potato is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat. Because of its widely distributed cultivation and high yields, it is considered a critical species in terms of food security in face of a growing world population. However, potato is particularly vulnerable to high temperature during various stages of its life cycle. Elevated temperatures strongly suppress tuberisation, negatively affect storage and shelf life of tubers and reduce fitness of seed potatoes. Breeding new heat-stress tolerant cultivars is an urgent need for sustainable increases in potato production, given the negative impact of the rises in temperature due to global warming. In this proposal, an integrated approach will be used by combining physiology, genetics, genomics, metabolomics and natural variation studies to analyze the impact of elevated temperatures on (1) sink-source relations of potato plants, (2) potato tuber development, (3) starch accumulation and tuber quality and (4) tuber dormancy. The outcomes of the project will be new knowledge of potato genes and their function that can be used in breeding programmes to increase yields in warmer climates.