From metabolic markers to mechanism of growth suppression: understanding the molecular physiology of sprouting in potato

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Controlling sprouting during storage is critical to the £4bn UK potato industry yetincreasing legislative restictions on chemical suppressants pose seriouschallenges, with a potential ban on the most widely used agrichemical. A deeperunderstanding of the sprouting process is required to identify novel solutions tothe problem.Sprouting involves re-activation from quiescence of groups of stem cells in tuber"eyes" and mobilisation of storage reserves from the surrounding tuber. Via ametabolomic study on staged, dissected buds we have shown that TCA cyclemetabolites are very early markers of sprouting.The TCA pathway is a core process generally linked with ATP generation.However, there is significant evidence that the pathway can also work in apartial, non-cyclic fashion in specific tissues under certain conditions, playing animportant role in the generation of carbon skeletons and reducing power forgrowth. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that during the earlieststages of sprouting the TCA "cycle" is working in such a non-canonical fashion.Understanding the sequence and spatial patterning of TCA-related eventsaround the bud sprouting