Takao Niino

Cryopreservation for preservation of potato genetic resources

Cryopreservation is becoming a very important tool for the long-term storage of plant genetic resources and efficient cryopreservation protocols have been developed for a large number of plant species. Practical procedures, developed using in vitro tissue culture, can be a simple and reliable preservation option of potato genetic resources rather than maintaining by vegetative propagation in genebanks due their allogamous nature. Cryopreserved materials insure a long-term backup of field collections against loss of plant germplasm. Occurrence of genetic variation, in tissue culture cells during prolonged subcultures, can be avoided with suitable cryopreservation protocols that provide high regrowth, leading and facilitating a systematic and strategic cryo-banking of plant genetic resources. Cryopreservation protocols for potato reviewed here, can efficiently complement field and in vitro conservation, providing for preservation of genotypes difficult to preserve by other methods, wild types and other species decided as priority collections.

Potato Genetic Resources

A very narrow genetic base of cultivated potato has permitted the collection and conservation of its landraces and wild relatives as sources of resistant and agronomically desirable traits. Despite its importance for identifying genetic materials and understanding diversity, potato taxonomy is complex and problematic due to the crossability, polyploidy, and reproductive nature of the potato species. Currently, the collected germplasm is preserved in gene banks around the world and distributed to potato researchers with accompanying data. Many gene banks maintain potato collections in vitro, and technological innovations have been developed to assure the long-term preservation of potato genetic resources. Release of the first draft sequence of the potato genome reaffirms the importance of potato genetic resources. Collaboration between potato researchers and gene bank curators promotes the effective use of the genetic resources. Application of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies would accelerate germplasm management, the evaluation of genetic diversity in situ and ex situ, and conservation planning of potato genetic resources.