GM potatoes focus of panel discussion at international ag bioscience event in Fargo

BY LISA GIBSON

The potato industry is marked by slow adoption of new technologies and new varieties, said Craig Richael, director of research and development for Simplot Plant Sciences, to a crowd of about 40 people in a breakout session of the Agricultural Bioscience International Conference Sept. 20 at the FargoDome in Fargo. ABIC is a global event in its 20th year and this is the first time it’s been hosted in the U.S.

Adoption of new potato varieties and technologies might be slow because of some consumers’ wariness of genetically modified food and the fact that potatoes are a staple food and dietary requirement in many cultures. Whatever the reason, opportunities to genetically improve the potato are available and Simplot is taking advantage of them.

Simplot’s newest GM potato is called Innate 2 and Richael explained that it was engineered using only potato genes, both wild and cultivated, to possess four important traits:

• Reduced black spots from bruisies and low browning when peeled.

• Reduced potential for formation of acrylamide, a potential carcinogen.

• Reduction in browning resulting from sugar buildup in cold storage.

• Reduction in late blight.

Innate 2, not yet commercially available, is an improved version of Innate, which possessed just the first two of the four traits and has been on the market for two years, Richael said. Richael also talked about potential in potatoes for genome editing, which is the knockout or knock-in of certain genes. The process is difficult in potatoes, he said, and might be regulated in the U.S. and other countries in the future.

While these innovations hold promise, regulations prevent their full, accepted and widespread use, Richael said. “As one trying to develop and encourage a specialty crop … I think that the glass is mostly half empty,” he said, adding that regulators should “back off.”

Still, the advances are promising. “It is a great time to be in the genetics field, using all these tools. It’s a wonderful time to be involved in crop improvement.”

Also presenting in the ABIC breakout session was Neil Gudmestad, distinguished professor of plant pathology at North Dakota State University in Fargo, who discussed his department’s research into potato diseases. As a vegetatively propagated crop, the potato is extremely susceptible to diseases, he said.

“Soil-borne diseases are the most damaging in the United States and the most difficult to control. There is a need for us to understand what constitutes a healthy soil.” Microbes are good indicators of soil health, as they respond quickly to any changes in their environments, he said. Changes in those microbe communities can precede problems in the soil.

The research Gudmestad discussed is focused on reducing dependence on soil fumigation to control diseases through genome sequencing. Gudmestad’s team and its partners are studying the phytobiome — the plant itself, its environment and associated communities of organisms — of the potato plant. The project already has identified some soils in which potatoes are or are not affected by soil-borne disease.

But there’s more to do, he said.

“We’re not there yet. We are a long ways away from determining what constitutes a healthy soil.” PB

Lisa Gibson Editor, Prairie Business 701.787.6753