Improving potato - Developing potato into a high-efficient, low-maintenance and multipurpose crop

The aim of this project is to genetically engineer potato for increased efficiency of starch synthesis as well as increased disease and drought resistance. The approach is to use a high-throughput sequencing platform to identify genes that are differentially regulated in potato cultivars that perform especially well under various growth conditions.

 

Selected candidate genes are tested by a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) approach and characterized using bio-imaging techniques. The effects of up- or down-regulating these genes are subsequently tested in transgenic potato.

 

The VIGS and bio-imaging parts of the project are carried out in the Section of Transport Biology. For the purpose of the VIGS experiments we have implemented a gene silencing technique based on a Potato virus X-based vector (Faivre-Rampant et al. (2004) Plant Physiol 134: 1308-16).

Potato leaf showing bleaching due to virus-induced silencing of the model gene encoding phytoene desaturase.

 

Collaborators

Head of project Dr. Kåre Lehmann Nielsen, Dept. of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, University of Aalborg.

 

Additional partners:

Bodil Jørgensen, Department of Agriculture and Ecology, KU-LIFE

Morten Gylling, Institute of Food and Resource Economics, KU-LIFE

Hanne Grethe Kirk, Landbrugets Kartoffelfond (LKF), Vandel

Kartoffelmelscentralen

Andelskartoffelmelsfabrikken Vendsyssel (AKV-Langholt)

CLC-Bio