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NRSPOLD006: Inter-Regional Potato Introduction Project: Acquisition, classification, preservation, evaluation and distribution of potato (Solanum) germplasm

Annual/Termination Reports (SAES-422): [08/04/2006] [08/10/2007] [08/05/2008] [07/08/2009] [09/10/2010]

Date of Annual Report: 08/04/2006

Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 06/06/06 to 06/08/06
  • Period the Report Covers: 05/2005 to 06/2006

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Attendees C. Y. Hu (Western Rep), Walter De Jong (Northeast), Max Martin, Steve Slack, Dona Sklarczyk Gary Kinard, John Bamberg, Gary Kinard, Dave Spooner, Creighton Miller Southern), Jr., Steve Reilling , Murali Bandla, John Bamberg made a presentation to Natonal Potato Council in the past year.

    Jorge Coco Abad will replace Suzanne Hurtt shortly at Quarantine in Beltsville, MD..

    Jeff Stark was selected to be the Western Rep, but declined in the end. Many members assumed that Isabel Vales was the rep. The West goes unrepresented this time.

    Richard Guthrie will be representing the Southern Region as AA.

    Agenda approved Last years minutes approved Resolution Committee established, Chuck Brown, Creighton Miller

    Dave Spooner Listed Projects and activities which are also in the report. Reciprocity issue for collecting is still not resolved. Nobody is collecting in Andean Countries.

    Discussed single point of origin of potato from Northern Brevicaule complex. This means that the ancestry of all cultivated potato is from this source.

    Subcontinent Indian landraces are of Chilean origin.

    Domingo Ríos is in Tenerife and in charge of the Canaries potato germplasm.

    Mexican landraces are recent based on lack of linguistic, archeaological, written records.

    We discussed the ownership debates over germplasm with no new conclusions.

    John Bamberg discussed his report.

    The monthly reports were discussed and most members indicated that were informative. Collecting: considering whether we should put more effort into collecting in hard to reach places. Max Martin is in charge of disease abatement. PSTV. They use Agdia to test for it. PSTV material might be better discarded.

    Materials that come from off-station should be grown off-site first, particularly in regard to PSTV.

    Jessy Schartner is engaged in germination research. Apomicitic phenomena are being studied as well . Late fruit maturation is an occasional issue. Fruit remains small with corolla attached.

    Evaluation: Goal is to make tools and opportunities for other researchers. Mutants. Nutritional issues. Anti-cancer factors, antioxidants, potassium. In other words, promote the good things about potato.

    Frost resistance. Finishing that project. Sharing with CIP colleagues.

    Developmental mutants. One example is development of sepals instead of the flower. Might be useful as a tool for studying floral developing.

    Tuber pH in exotic species is a project. Effects on disease resistance, processing quality.

    Solanum microdontum was chosen as a taxon for multiplexing study.

    Use of neutral markers may not be the best markers to use. Sequence related to function will displace this in the future.

    Is it hypothetically possible that a bioinformaticist should be functioning in collaboration with vast sequence resources.

    For instance, determining the sequence of genes important in carbohydrate metabolism.

    A discussion of the acceptance of transgenics ensued. No one seems to know how transgenic potato will become acceptable in North America, but it is on track for commercialization in India and China.

    2005 was high point with a total of 20,000 units distributed.

    Association of potato intergenebank collaborators (APIC) initiatives. John Bamberg traveled to CIP to reinvigorate this activity.

    Walter De Jong reported on Northeast Region see Annual report.

    Creighton Miller reported on Southern Region see Annual report.

    We discussed the value of 4x-2x crosses that were originally seen as a means of inserting wild species genes into tetraploid germplasm.

    4x -2x crosses have fallen by the wayside due to the difficulty of obtaining several combined traits and a high rate of 2n pollen production combined with fecundity.

    Steve Slack made several comments on administrative matters.

    Should we allow visitor participants at the meeting without them having official function. One of the issues is who pays for it. The experiment station directors may not pay for official delegates or visitors.

    There is an effort to remove formula funds and make them national competitive funds. As projects end the money will be siphoned into a competitive grant system. Multistate projects would go from 25% to 50% and become competitively funded.

    House has indicated its support not to change the system. How many cycles will it have to go through before it is lost. Agricultural funding has not had an increase in twenty years.

    NIH has a big hook to hang things on. Like Cancer.

    Ag Research has many agendas with many groups pitching their topic of interest.

    Don Sklarczyk reported on the history of the NPC and NPPB. The National Potato Council has John Keeling and two staff members. Growers are all volunteer based made up of five vice presidents. The organization is heavily dependent on grower volunteers. Levies to support these organization are 1.5 cents and 2.0 cents for NPC and NPPB, respectively. NPC seeks funds from other sources. Friends of the Industry. NPC can get grants. Du Pont supplies $10 k per year. Very active group. Make sure that committees are very active.

    NPC tries to provide one voice for the potato industry. John has interacted on the new farm bill. Specialty crops group was formed. Cohesive voice for specialty crops in the new farm bill. Would like to see funding equity 50% comes from specialty crops and only 3% of farm payments comes back. Like to see more money to come back into development and research programs.

    NPPB has to make sure that anything they do is not construed as lobbying because they are under federal oversight.

    Budget Talk

    The reduction of funding means that there will be a conversion of personnel to Federal employment. Also the manner in which funding will be offset by federal funds is unscheduled.

    Removing employees from state positions means they are terminated from that position, and placement in a federal appointment means that they start a new job. There is no way to make all forms of remuneration equivalent. NRSP-6 funding of travel costs may need to be reduced. It is never in the budget.

    Meeting in Sturgeon Bay in 2007. June 19 and 20. Tuesday and Wednesday.

    Dave Douches was elected secretary for 2007.

    Secretarys Review 1. Advocate that NRSP-6 study the possible change in activities (additional activities) in relation to the availability of extensive sequence once the potato genome is fully sequenced. 2. Description of single point of origin research lead to clarification of implications for germplasm workers. 3. Whether potato in higher latitudes comes from Andes or Southern Chile is still an active area of debate. There are implications on germplasm improvement. 4. Discussion of what to do with PSTV infected material. 5. Discussion of retirement of Suzanne Hurtt and accession to the position of Jorge Abad. 6. NPC and NPPB are important organizations that do a lot with small number of staff. We are grateful that they do that. 7. Emphasize that Quarantine servicing of potato germplasm needs is good, and in vitro introduction immediately and clean up service and facilitated a number of research goals. We would like Jorge Abad to come to our meetings 8. Budget discussions center on how to adjust to funding reductions that may or may not be made up for by ARS increases.

    Resolution: Whereas the NRSP-6 committee enjoyed wonderful hospitality and facilities; and Whereas Candice Gardner was an exemplary host; and Whereas all participants learned a great deal and was able to impart knowledge in a comfortable and beautiful setting; and Whereas the tour of facilities was well-organized and technically rich; and Whereas the staff that carries out the research and curatorial activities does an outstanding job; and Whereas David Spooner is a pre-eminent world authority on potato taxonomy and John Bamberg is an outstanding researcher and curator of North Americas Potato Germplasm Collection; and Whereas Bob Westerman served as Adminstrative Advisor from the Southern Be it hereby resolved That TAC expresses its gratitude and sincere appreciation to all these individuals.

    A motion That the national potato council representative be an official voting member of the TAC. By Creighton Miller seconded by Walter De Jong. Passed.

    Respectfully submitted, Charles R. Brown Secretary 2006


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    A. Introduction of New Stocks Dr. Bamberg, Dr. Alfonso del Rio, and Charles Fernandez (US Potato Genebank) had a successful collecting expedition to the Huachuca Wilderness in southeast Arizona and the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson, Arizona in September of 2005 (supported with extramural funding from USDA). They collected 14 new accessions, 13 of S. stoloniferum and one S. jamesii from the Chiricahua Wilderness. For 50 years the only available germplasm from this area consisted of a few collections from spots easily accessible by road. New collections were from sites accessible only through camping and extensive hiking. This will be a test case of an important question about germplasm collecting: Do samples from sites easy to access adequately represent the genetics in a geographic area, or is there much more work that should be done to access more remote sites? They also collected two S. stolonifenum from the Santa Catalina Mountains, both near two previous herbarium collection sites. A total of 22 accessions were assigned PI numbers in 2005: two PVY resistant varieties from the UK, five late blight resistant clones from Mexico, one S. soestii from Bolivia, and 14 accessions collected from the SW United States. These accessions are now available from the NRSP-6 Solanum germplasm collection. Several steps were taken in the past year to promote and inform researchers of NRSP-6s services and stocks. The NRSP-6 web page (http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6) has been updated and made more user friendly. Clientele that have ordered from NRSP-6 in the past four years are contacted three times per year informing them of new materials that are now available either as true seed, tubers, in vitro plantlets, or herbarium samples. A new service we are offering is dried ground leaf samples for DNA testing. For foreign requesters this is useful since there are no quarantine restrictions on dried material.

    B. Preservation and Increase of Stocks In 2005, a total of 175 accessions were increased as botanical seed populations. A total of 900 potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) tests were performed on seed increase parents, seedlots and research materials. Germination tests were performed on 1199 accessions, ploidy determinations were made on nine accessions, and tetrazolium seed viability tests were done on 100 seedlots. Progress was made on several international collaborative projects. We are working with CIP on a project to assess the impact of agrichemicals on pollen and seed viability of wild species (oral presentation at the PAA06). We planned a study to look at the prevalence of hidden recessives and diversity of nematode resistance alleles in S. andigena with Russian (VIR) colleagues. Work continued with Dr. C. Millers lab screening for antioxidants in uncolored wild potato species tubers. Previous screening among species identified ones with promising levels of tuber antioxidant capacity. Some diploid Mexican species seem to have high antioxidants in common: S. cardiophyllum, S. jamesii, and S. pinnatisectum (paper submitted AJPR 3/2006). Continued fine screening is discovering high levels of antioxidants in species that are more crossable to tuberosum and known to have acceptably low levels of glycoalkaloids. We explored the potential of using a potato-based in vitro Agrobacterium tumefaciens system to screen for anti-tumor factors. The Potato Crop Germplasm Committee (CGC) also sponsored a funded grant proposal to screen for Potato Carboxypeptidase Inhibitor (PCI), a small heat-stable protein unique to potato that has been shown to efficiently inhibit proliferation of some of the most pernicious human cancers. Frost resistant breeding work continues with recurrent selection of S. tuberosum, S. acaule and S. commersonii hybrids. Materials are now maturing earlier with the introgression of very early varieties, and some selections have been confirmed to survive in vitro leaf freezing to 5oC. In a related study, substitution backcross families were used to show that cytoplasm is not a factor in the extreme frost hardiness of S. commersonii. We discovered a new floral development mutant in S. microdontum which we have named crazy sepal because it grows multiple (indeterminate) sets of sepals instead of anthers and pistils. This is a potential tool for studying floral development, and may have other applications as a completely sterile mutant. Progeny tests indicate monogenic recessive gene action. Attempts to artificially restore fertility are in progress as well as the generation of DNA markers to tag the recessive cs1 allele (short communication in AJPR). Testing was continued in an effort to confirm and characterize apomixis in S. jamesii. A field tuberization location in Hawaii was tested and appears to be effective. Until now, the only other way to produce tubers of wild species has been in winter greenhouse pots, and such tubers might not give a true indication of their potential value with respect to a variety of tuber traits. Plant parts are known to vary widely for pH, but little is known about the variation, basis, or utility of pH extremes in potato tubers. When pH was measured on species of the mini-core collection, replicates over years and populations gave rather consistent results, with S. polytrichon, S. pinnatisectum and S. papita being the most acidic. Cultivated species, S. verrucosum and S. okadae, were least acidic. The observed range of pH (5.5-6.1) represents a 4-fold difference in H ion concentration. We intend to fine-screen among genotypes within species to find the limits of tuber acidity, then characterize the physiology, genetics and impact on economic traits like disease resistances and processing quality (oral presentation at the PAA06). We want to see if we can do more efficient research by combining many initiatives. Solanum microdontum is remarkably extreme and variable for several characteristics (acid, potassium, calcium, late blight, and antioxidants). We will characterize all the S. mcd for these traits. We also want to collect and analyze DNA to see if gross genetic differences are a guide to variation for useful traits.

    C. Classification Dr. Spooner et al. have published and are working on five different areas of potato research: 1) a manual on the use of molecular markers for genebank studies, 2) on studies in cultivated potato origins, 3) on molecular investigations of relationships in wild tomatoes and potatoes, 4)on an exploration of the predictive power of taxonomy relative to disease resistance data, 5) on a molecular linkage map of late blight in wild potatoes.

    D. Distribution NRSP-6 distributed 3,929 units of seed (not including in-house use); 135 tuber families; 1,106 tuber clones; 732 in vitro stocks; 368 DNA samples; and 157 plants in plugs to clientele in 30 states of the USA and 12 other countries. Internally NRSP-6 used 13,566 units of seed for seed backup, chromosome counts, germination tests, identification and taxonomic check plantings, in vitro maintenance, seed increases, PSTV tests, and miscellaneous plantings. The volume and types of stocks sent to various consignee categories are summarized in the table which is included in the attachment with the minutes.

    Impact Statements:
    1. NRSP-6s purpose is to provide a ready source of raw materials, technology and information to support potato enhancement, breeding and research in the USA and around the world. Thus, one way the success of NRSP-6 can be measured is by the occurrence of NRSP-6 germplasm in the pedigrees of new, improved potato cultivars. Another is in the use of NRSP-6 stocks in more basic research programs, which is reflected in publications that provide information that ultimately contribute to better exploitation of the germplasm resource.
    2. Four cultivar releases were published in the American Journal of Potato Research in 2005: Dakota Pearl, Millenium Russet, Sierra Gold, and Summit Russet. Four verticillium wilt resistant germplasm releases were published in AJPR. All of these are known to have wild species in their pedigrees.
    3. Section 6 lists 100 papers, 45 abstracts, and 3 theses which report the use of NRSP-6 Solanum introductions this year.
    Last Modified: 11-Aug-2009

    Date of Annual Report: 08/10/2007

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 06/21/07 to 06/22/07
  • Period the Report Covers: 10/2006 to 09/2007

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    NRSP-6 TAC 2007 MINUTES

    Peninsular Agricultural Research Station (PARS) U.S. Potato Genebank (USPG) Sturgeon Bay, WI June 21, 2007

    Creighton Miller, Chair, NRSP-6 TAC 07. Chuck Brown, Vice Chair, NRSP-6 TAC 07 (absent) David Douches, Secretary, NRSP-6 TAC 07 (absent); Isabel Vales acted as Secretary.

    The meeting was called to order at 8:20 a.m.

    Attendance

    Attendance was poor this year due to budget constrains, travel cancellations and/or conflicts with other responsibilities.

    Present: Ed Ashworth, John Bamberg, C. Y. Hu, Molly Jahn, Max Martin, Creighton Miller, Jiwan Palta, Phil Simon, Richard Tarn, Christian Thill, Gail Wisler, Isabel Vales

    Absent: Chuck Brown, David Douches, Shelley Jansky, David Spooner, CSREES and APHIS not represented.

    Morning Session

    Preliminaries: 1. Welcome, introductions, announcements, distribution of documents 2. The 2007 agenda was distributed. No additions were made and the agenda was approved. 3. The 2006 minutes were distributed. Only a small modification was made: Learned that Hu is both Lead Administrative Advisor to NRSP-6 and Western Region Administrative Advisor. The minutes were approved as distributed. Isabel Vales moved acceptance and Creighton Miller seconded. 4. A Resolutions Committee was appointed by Miller, with by C.Y. Hu as Chair.

    Pressing Issues: - Interaction with CIP o Getting materials was resolved o APHIS/Quarantine problems have been resolved - Personnel issues  quick overview - Budgets. Where are we? What are the future plans?

    Tour: A tour of the USPG and PARS facilities (laboratories, greenhouse and field) started at 8:35 a.m. A handout with the names of staff members was distributed: - Bamberg, ARS Lead Scientist and NRSP-6 Project Leader - Martin, UW Academic Staff and NRSP-6 Project Assistant - Stoneman, ARS Technician - Schartner, ARS Technician - Fernandez, UW Classified - Del Rio, UW Academic Staff - Temporary Workers and Students - Associated Professional Staff: - David Spooner: ARS Taxonomist, Collector and Herbarium Manager - Shelley Jansky: ARS, germplasm evaluator and enhancer - Phil Simon: ARS Research Leader - Jiwan Palta: Formal Cooperative Agreement, research & U.WI Breeder

    Afternoon Session (Reports and Comments)

    Coordination of Genebanks/Intergene Bank - John Bamberg " In 1970s, CIP suggested cooperation. " In the 1990s, linkages between banks were established, and there was a coordination of holdings. There has been little activity during the past few years. " In 2005 there was a resurrection of global diversity. " Collaborations continue with the CIP and German/Dutch potato collections. Some projects involve in situ work  collections and surveys are important. " A cooperative agreement with CIP to have student exchanges would be good, and this is in the works. " Important aspects related to coordination of Genebanks are to avoid duplication and to foster interaction and information sharing.

    5/6. Report from Lead Administrative Advisor to NRSP-6  C.Y. Hu " Hu will host the Western Regional meeting in Hawaii in March. " Four centers hold germplasm in addition to NRSP-5 and NRSP-6 - Geneva, NY - Experiment, GA - Ames, IA - Pullman, WA " Funding for the four above mentioned centers is regional. " NRSP-6 funding comes from the federal level. NRSP-6 funding is evaluated by the National Germplasm Review Committee. The recommendations are to restore funds at the 05-06 level ($150,000). Funding for NRSP6 is on the agenda for the July regional meeting. Funding depends on voting which will take place in September.

    Ching Yuan Hu, Ph.D. (7/20/07)  written report: The NRSP Review Committee met on June 6, 2007 in Kansas City to discuss NRSP budget proposals. Committee members present were Lee Sommers (CO), Chair and W rep; Marshall Martin (IN), NC rep; Bill Vinson (WV), NE rep; Craig Nessler (VA), S rep; Al Parks (Prairie View A&M), ARD rep; Larry Miller, CSREES rep; Eric Young, S Executive Director; Mike Harrington, W Executive Director; and , Don Latham (IA), Stakeholder rep. During the Western Directors Joint Summer Meeting (July 16-18), Lee Sommers made a presentation on NRSP budget recommendations which the committee will be submitting to the Experiment Station Section at its September annual meeting in Philadelphia. The following is an excerpt from Lees report on NRSP6: NRSP-6. Inter-Regional Potato Introduction Project. The amount requested for FY08 was $110,000. This project is an essential component of the National Plant Germplasm System, and the funding request is consistent with maintaining ongoing support from the SAES for the project. Motion by Nessler to accept budget request. Second by Latham. Motion passed. I anticipate the NRSP Review Committee recommendations will be approved by the directors attending the ESS meeting. I spoke to Lee about NRSP6 budget request this morning. He indicated it is too late to make a request to change our budget proposal; but suggested us to submit a budget next year at the level of 2006 funding ($150K). I will work with John to prepare FY09 NRSP-6 budget proposal in January.

    Issues to discuss: recover some costs (for example shipping and handling). Probably not necessary. Recipients pay for shipping if a fast delivery is requested. Shipping and handling costs will be difficult to manage through the USDA-ARS system.

    Molly Jahn, Dean of the WI College of Agriculture, should be the Lead Administrative Advisor for this group, but since she is new to the group, Hu agreed to remain as the Lead AA for two more years.

    11. Budget Report and Outlook - Bamberg " From the Directors office: USDA does not have a budget for 2007. " The presidents budget does not include special grants. Special grants CSREES disappeared, which was a major setback for participating states. $160 mill. moved into formula funds (Hatch funds) " Now working on a new appropriation bill, farm bill " Congress wants to move formula funds into multi-state competitive research. " New initiative: CREATE 21 (Creative Research and Teaching) " Special grants will not go away, but the Chair of the House Committee can reduce them. For next year, theyll reduce them to half. This will be discussed in September.

    9. Additional Genebank Staff and Resources Report John Bamberg and Jiwan Palta " Funding looks good. It will probably go back to the $150,000 level. " The Dept. of Horticulture will reduce FTE by 1/3. The general feeling was that the interactions and synergy between USDA-ARS researchers and the university has been excellent, and it will be sad to see it decline due to budgetary issues. " Some money was received at the end of the year and will continue at the same level. " Annual report can be downloaded from the Web.

    Introductions  stocks from the SW B classification  Spooner was appointed to head collection and classification Preservation  Virus PSTV Part B. Evaluation International collaborations Nutrition Tools  Germplasm, mutants Alfonso del Rio  diversity impact E. Distribution of materials: normal year F. Visitors from China, from media Useful findings  There are lots of potato varieties with exotic germplasm Section 5. Continue Section 6. Publications. Note: publications should be requested from collaborations/germplasm recipients Set up parameters, metrics will be useful to reflect damage if funding is disrupted.

    Formal Cooperative Agreements - Jiwan Palta " Cooperative studies resulted in 2 NRI grants funded and training of several students. " Research Topics: Cold tolerance and acclimation from biochemical and genetic perspectives " Cooperative agreement under way to study GA and tuberization, tuber acidity, P, genetics of tuber calcium and carbosypeptidase acidity. " Cooperation with CIP  trips

    10. Collections and Taxonomy  John Bamberg " CIP trips  able to collect again " There are prospects about collecting in Peru. " Engaging and showing benefit sharing are important

    12/13. USDA, ARS Potato NPL  Gail Wisler " Grants from USDA, ARS, and NPC resolved. " The idea of expanding membership to include more breeders and the private sector was positively received. " Potato cyst nematode discussion

    8. Agriculture/Agrifood Canada. - Richard Tarn " Richard is the PI for the potato breeding program. " Participated in Canada Plant Resources Project. 132 accessions: 54 Canadian bred varieties. Working closely with seeds of diversity. They identified heirloom varieties of importance. " Standard clones used in pathology as disease resistance checks " Breeding lines of importance " An annual newsletter is prepared. Check the web page Potato Research Center

    GRINCA: Canadian version of GRIN 45 requests (511 units) Most materials are in vitro Personal information should not be disclosed Official minutes should contain a synthesis of the reports Technical reports are for internal communication and follow mission aspects

    7. Regional and ARS Tech. Rep. Reports (posted on Genebank web site) Western Region: Isabel Vales Southern Region: Creighton Miller North Central Region: Christian Thill National Program Staff Report: Gail Wisler Canada: Richard Tarn

    Statistics Report status of orders/research Needs/advise

    16. Review and Approve Resolutions. Chris Thill moved to approve and Tarn seconded. Motion passed.

    17. Elect New Officers and Set next Meeting date Chuck Brown, Vice Chair to Chair in 2008 David Douches, Secretary to Vice Chair in 2008 Isabel Vales, Acting Secretary to Secretary in 2008 Christian Thill moved to approve and Palta seconded. Motion passed.

    2008 location: Cornell. Thill moved acceptance of meeting location and Gail seconded. Motion passed.

    The meeting was adjourned at 6:02 p.m.

    Resolutions:

    Resolution #1.

    WHEREAS, Dr. Steven Slack served as North Central Region Administrative Advisor and the Lead Administrative Advisor to the NRSP-6 Potato Germplasm Project; and

    WHEREAS, he conscientiously provided liaison between the project and the USDA/NC Regional Association, as well as Experiment Station Section; therefore, be it

    RESOLVED, that NRSP-6 TAC expresses highest appreciation for Dr. Slacks leadership and many contributions to the NRSP-6 and the development and use of potato species, and be it further

    RESOLVED, that an original of this resolution be provided to Dr. Steven Slack, and that a copy be filed as part of the official minutes of this meeting.

    Resolution #2.

    WHEREAS, Dr. Steve Reiling served as Northeast Region Administrative Advisor to the NRSP-6 Potato Germplasm Project; and

    WHEREAS, he conscientiously provided liaison between the project and the USDA/NE Regional Directors Association, be it

    RESOLVED, that NRSP-6 TAC expresses highest appreciation for Dr. Reilings leadership and many contributions to the NRSP-6 and the development and use of potato species, and be it further

    RESOLVED, that an original of this resolution be provided to Dr. Steve Reiling, and that a copy be filed as part of the official minutes of this meeting.

    Resolution #3.

    WHEREAS, the NRSP-6 TAC met at the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station, Sturgeon By, WI, June 21-22, 2007; and

    WHEREAS, those attending were educated and stimulated by meetings and the station tour; and

    WHEREAS, the location for the meeting was outstanding and the accommodations were both compatible and conducive to effective interaction resulting in a successful meeting; therefore, be it

    RESOLVED, that the NRSP-6 TAC expresses its appreciation to Dr. John Bamberg and Mr. Max Martin for arranging the facilities and coordinating the meeting and the station tour, and be it further

    RESOLVED, that an original of this resolution be provided to Dr. John Bamberg and that a copy be filed as part of the official minutes of this meeting.


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    A. Introduction of New Stocks A total of 41 accessions were assigned PI numbers in 2006: one clone from Korea, one late blight clone from Mexico, one mapping population parent from CIP, 25 tuber moth resistant clones from CIP, and 13 accessions collected from Arizona. These accessions are now available from the NRSP-6 Solanum germplasm collection.

    The NRSP-6 web page (http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6) has been updated to include all new stocks and screening information. Clientele that have ordered from NRSP-6 in the past four years are contacted three times per year informing them of new materials that are now available either as true seed, tubers, in vitro plantlets, or herbarium samples. A new service we are offering is dried ground leaf samples for DNA. For foreign requesters this is useful since there are no quarantine restrictions on dried material.

    B. Classification Dr. Spooner et al. have published and are working on five different areas of potato research: 1) molecular markers for genebank studies, 2) cultivated potato origins, 3) relationships in wild tomatoes and potatoes, 4) the predictive power of taxonomy relative to disease resistance data, and 5) linkage map of late blight in wild potatoes.

    C. Preservation and Increase of Stocks In 2006, a total of 223 accessions were increased as botanical seed populations.

    A total of 600 potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) tests were performed on seed increase parents, seedlots and research materials. Germination tests were performed on 1,307 accessions, ploidy determinations were made on 40 accessions, and tetrazolium seed viability tests were done on 31 seedlots.

    D. Evaluation International collaboration. 1) with CIP, study of the impact of agrichemicals on in situ wild potato reproduction continued, and we initiated a related project to assess the impact of mining pollution on wild potato reproduction. The frost resistant breeding family developed by NRSP-6 staff was evaluated in Peru, and results appear to be promising. The elite clonal selections from this population grown in Hancock, Wisconsin had good tuber type and cold hardiness to 5oC. 2) with CIP, calcium application trials in the highlands showed impressive yield improvement, and suggest our parallel ongoing program to enhance calcium uptake efficiency via S. microdontum introgression might have impressive application in some locations in the Andes. 3) with CIP, progress was made on a joint project to study in situ germplasm capture (see below) and molecular-based assessment of allele density. 4) with PICTICPAPA: The entire collection of S. microdontum was evaluated for late blight in Toluca, Mexico (results pending).

    Nutritional. 1) Potato potassium is in a unique position to mitigate hypertension, which has huge health and economic impact. Potassium levels in the tubers are also correlated to the incidence of black spot bruise. We screened and found significant species differences in K uptake potential (funding anticipated from CGC). 2) Work continued with Dr. C. Millers lab screening for antioxidants in uncolored wild potato species tubers. We found an important GxE effect, demonstrating that some germplasm is only high antiox when grown artificially in the greenhouse, not in the field (two papers submitted). 3) Plans were made to preselect and screen the primitive cultivated species collection for high phenolics. 4) We began researching and planning experiments to examine anticancer potential of high tuber tomatine. 5) We characterized exotics and adapted materials for Potato Carboxypeptidase Inhibitor, a tiny heat- and digestion-resistant protein reported to inhibit some of the most pernicious human cancers (funded by the Crop Germplasm Committee, CGC). We staged parents for making and testing segregating hybrids for all of these traits.

    Mutants and other new traits. 1) We initiated crossing for adapted tubers in the background of the crazy sepal sterile floral mutant. BSA of crazy and flowering plants are planned for a fair test of the potential yield improvement without the sink in flowers. 2) Continued tests to relate tuber pH to other traits like calcium and antiox. S. microndontum was newly identified as a species for which some populations tubers are extremely acidic (10x most cultivated types). 3) Produced calcium introgression hybrids at 2x and 4x level and evaluated in WI and Hawaii. 4) Confirm that other GA mutants published as pito and ga2 are both likely the same as our ga1. Staged for study of spontaneous reversion to the functional allele. 5) Purple-less fendleri: Eliminated genome suppression as explanation for distorted segregation observed in some mutant testcrosses.

    Genebank technology and diversity management. 1) Found that long-term germination is declining more rapidly outside of local -20 and NSSL storage, so moved our active inventory to -20. 2) Found germination is not biased by density of sowing. 3) Found seedlots generated in 1986 with and without extra fertilization do not show clear germination effect due to seed quality after 20-yr storage. 4) Found seedlings are taller under sodium vs metal halide lamps. 5) Characterized 100 microdontum pops for pH, calcium, antiox, cs1 mutant and late blight pursuant to testing effectiveness of DNA-based core collection within a species. 6) Tested seed increase phenology and found later summer plantings produce more seeds per pollination. 7) With CIP cooperators continued case study of capture of diversity at easy-vs-hard collecting sites. 8) Found proximity of other species does not explain distinction of northern S. verrucosum populations in Mexico. 9) Published results showing small DNA differences between reputed duplicates in NRSP-6 and CIP collections. 10) Published conclusion that no loss of diversity happens at selection of excess small seedlings at transplant for inbred species.

    E. Distribution NRSP-6 distributions are shown in the table below. Stocks were sent to clientele in 25 states of the USA and 11 other countries.

    VOLUME AND TYPES OF STOCKS DISTRIBUTED

    Units1 Category S TF TS IVS DNA PL HERB TOT PIs Domestic 3,794 214 1,158 617 0 11 0 5,794 3,088 Foreign 481 0 16 20 42 0 0 559 529 NRSP-62 9,192 0 62 284 0 0 0 9,538 2,271 Total 13,467 214 1,236 921 42 11 0 15,891 5,888

    1 Types of stocks sent/(number of seeds, tubers or plantlets per standard shipping unit): S= True Seeds/(50), TF= Tuber Families/(10),

    TS=Tuber Stocks/(3), IVS=In Vitro Stocks/(1), DNA=DNA samples(1), PL=Plants in plugs/(1), Her= Herbarium/(1).

    2 Includes chromosome counts, germination tests, ID and Taxonomic check plantings, in vitro maintenance, seed increases,

    PSTV tests, miscellaneous plantings, and NSSL seed backup.

    F. Visitors From Other Countries Dr. Shaoguan Duan-China; Dr. Liping Jin-China; Dr. Shuzhi Jaing-China; Dr. Kaiyun Xie-China; Dr. Wenbo Pan-China; Dr. Conghua Xie-China; Dr. Jun Liu-China; Dr. Nune Sarukhanyan-Armenia; Dr. Klaus J. Dehmer-Germany; Dr. Glenn Bryan-Scotland; Dr. Gavin Ramsay-Scotland; Dr. Caroline Marques Castro-Brazil

    Impact Statements:
    1. NRSP-6s purpose is to provide a ready source of raw materials, technology and information to support potato enhancement, breeding and research in the USA and around the world. Thus, one way the success of NRSP-6 can be measured is by the occurrence of NRSP-6 germplasm in the pedigrees of new, improved potato cultivars. Another is in the use of NRSP-6 stocks in more basic research programs, which is reflected in publications that provide information that ultimately contribute to better use of the germplasm resource.
    2. Nine cultivar releases were published in the American Journal of Potato Research in 2006: Dakota Jewel, Dakota Rose, Beacon Chipper, Reeves Kingpin, Western Russet, Gemstar Russet, Marcy, Defender, and White Pearl. All of these are known to have wild species in their pedigrees.
    3. 100 papers, 45 abstracts, and 4 theses which report the use of NRSP-6 Solanum introductions this year.
    Last Modified: 11-Aug-2009

    Date of Annual Report: 08/05/2008

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 06/09/08 to 06/10/08
  • Period the Report Covers: 01/2007 to 12/2007

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    NRSP-6 Technical Committee Meeting Minutes Synopsis

    Venue: Best Western Columbia River Inn, Cascade Locks, OR / June 9-10, 2008

    Leadership: C. Brown, Chair & Host; D. Douches, Vice Chair; I. Vales, Secretary

    People present: Martin, Max. W. (mwmarti1@wis.edu) - NRSP6; Hoopes, Bob (robert.hoopes@fritolay.com) - Frito Lay; De Jong, Walter (wsd2@cornell.edu) - Cornell; Bamberg, John (john.bamberg@ars.usda.gov) - (USDA-ARS); Kunibe, Elizabeth (elizbowe@hotmail.com) - USDA-SARU Univ. of AK; Douches, David (douchesd@msu.edu) - Michigan State University; Spooner, David (david.spooner@ars.usda.gov) - USDA-ARS; Wisler, Gail (gail.wisler@ars.usda.gov) - USDA-ARS; Abad, Jorge (jorge.a.abad@aphids.usda.gov) - USDA-APHIS; Vales, Isabel (isabel.vales@oregonstate.edu) - Oregon State University; Brown, Chuck (chuck.brown@ars.usda.gov) - USDA-ARS

    Business:

    Welcome, introductions, misc. announcements, distribution of documents were followed by a discussion of several related topics: Zebra chip, Purple top, nematodes, ethnobotany of potato in AK/PNW, SolCAP proposal. Review of 2007 minutes. No Admin Advisors were present. Reports were given by the five regional and ARS technical reps. Germplasm from NRSP6 continues to be extensively used to address practical potato breeding problems. No Agriculture and Agrifood Canada rep was present. Project Leader Bamberg gave report on follow-through for decisions made at the committee's 2007 meeting. Bamberg reported on advances in each of the five mission areas of the genebank: Introduction of new stocks, Preservation, Evaluation, Distribution (Classification would be later presented later by the project's taxonomist, Spooner). Bamberg presented budget news: Successful initiative to restore NRSP6 to $150K level and take our message directly to SAESD. Funding outlook from Wisconsin and ARS partners is not encouraging. Spooner presented results of recent taxonomic research and collecting. USDA/ARS/NPS news was represented by Wisler who reported on various national issues, technical and financial. No CSREES representative was present. Abad of APHIS/Quarantine Lab gave report on quarantine operations with respect to potato. Guest presentation on ethnobotany of native Alaskan potatoes was given by Kunibe. A resolution thanking the host was adopted, new officers were elected, and location for TAC09 selected. The NRSP6 meeting ended, and those present conducted business as the Potato Crop Germplasm committee meeting, conducting a preliminary discussion of FY09 germplasm evaluation grant proposals.


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    3. PROGRESS AND PRINCIPAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

    A. Introduction of New Stocks John Bamberg and Alfonso del Rio (US Potato Genebank) had a successful collecting expedition to the Guadalupe Mountain National Park (GMNP) in west Texas in late September of 2007 (supported with extramural funding from USDA). They collected four new populations. These were the first S. stoloniferum germplasm from Culberson County, TX and first potato collections from Eddy County, NM.

    A total of 5 accessions were assigned PI numbers in 2007: one primitive cultivar from Peru and 4 accessions collected from the SW United States. These accessions are now available from the NRSP-6 Solanum germplasm collection.

    The NRSP-6 web page (http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6) has been updated to include all new stocks and screening information. Clients who have ordered from NRSP-6 in the past four years are contacted three times per year informing them of new materials that are now available either as true seed, tubers, in vitro plantlets, or herbarium samples. A new service we are offering is dried ground leaf samples for DNA testing. For foreign requesters this is useful since there are no quarantine restrictions on dried tissue.

    B. Preservation and Increase of Stocks

    In 2007, a total of 155 accessions were increased as botanical seed populations. A total of 672 potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) tests were performed on seed increase parents, seedlots and research materials. Germination tests were performed on 1120 accessions, ploidy determinations were made on 35 accessions, and tetrazolium seed viability tests were done on 55 seedlots.

    Progress was made on several international collaborative projects. We are working with CIP on a project to assess the impact of agrichemicals on pollen and seed viability of wild species (oral presentation at the PAA07). Agrichemicals depress reproduction and diversity of wild potato germplasm, suggesting remote populations should be targeted for future collecting by genebanks. John Bamberg visited Peru in May 2007 to harvest calcium and frost plots. A low cost source of calcium applied to research plots located in the highlands of Peru resulted in an increase yield of 60% for some clones. Work is now being planned to identify genetics of stocks that respond well to added calcium.

    Frost is a major problem for the highland farmers in Peru, with major devastating episodes in the past two years. We supplied selected frost resistant germplasm for testing, and continue to synthesize hybrids of native cultivars with highly frost resistant wild species for tests in Peru. We initiated quarantine seed increase of seed rescued from the VIR collection to incorporate into the US Potato Genebank. We are also planning an intergenebank cooperative project to evaluate primitive cultivated species andigena for hidden recessive traits and incorporate word holdings data into the global germplasm database (IPD).

    Hypertension in humans and black spot bruise in potatoes are both problems for which increased tuber potassium could have a positive influence. Potassium screening of the minicore collection funded by the Crop Germplasm Committee (CGC) grant has shown great species variation which could lead to a selection of high-K varieties that lower blood pressure and reduce black spot bruise. We continued screening for antioxidants in uncolored wild potato species tubers of S. okadae hybrids with USDA cooperator Dr. Navarre. We have extended this work to discovery of high antiox species more crossable to tuberosum, and synthesis of diploid segregating populations. We discovered a new floral development mutant in S. microdontum which we have named crazy sepal (cs1) because it grows multiple (indeterminate) sets of sepals instead of anthers and pistils. This is a potential tool for studying floral development and cost of flowering on tuber yield. It would prevent transgene escape from GMO potato. We have made crosses with diploid tuberosum to investigate these opportunities and made the mutant available to other workers (Short Communication in AJPR).

    Plant parts are known to vary widely for pH, but little is known about the variation, basis, or utility of pH extremes in potato tubers. When pH was measured on species of the mini-core collection, replicates over years and populations gave consistent results, with pH range of (5.0-6.2). Fine screening has now discovered very acidic species more amenable to crossing with tuberosum, and we have produced F2 segregating populations. This opens the door to studies linking acidity to a wide range of tuber parameters like processing quality, skin color retention, disease resistance, calcium content, glycemic index and acrylamide formation.

    Solanum microdontum is remarkably extreme and variable for several characteristics (acid, potassium, calcium, late blight and antioxidants). We continued to perform replicated characterization of S. microdontum for these traits. We also collected DNA to compare variation for useful phenotypic traits to gross genetic variation.

    C. Classification

    Dr. Spooner et al. have published and are working on five different areas of potato research: 1) molecular markers for genebank studies, 2) cultivated potato origins, 3) relationships in wild tomatoes and potatoes, 4) the predictive power of taxonomy relative to disease resistance data, and 5) a linkage map showing late blight in wild potatoes.

    D. Distribution

    The volume and types of stocks sent to various consignee categories are summarized in the table below. NRSP-6 distributed to clients in 24 states of the USA and 8 other countries.

    Impact Statements:
    1. Potato is the number one vegetable crop and ranks number four among world food crops. The US Potato Genebank provides a high quality, ready source of seed, technology and information to support potato enhancement, breeding and research in the USA and around the world.
    2. The impact of the genebank has been strong in the past. Staff have been instrumental in developing technologies widely used in potato breeding, like cut-stem pollination, hormone pre-treatment of seeds for better germination, extraction of haploids and use with 2n gametes in breeding. The genebank imported valuable germplasm and generated, formatted and computerized a wide array of trait evaluation data and taxonomic characterization. One way the impact of these contributions can be measured is by the occurrence of NRSP-6 germplasm in the pedigrees of new, improved potato cultivars. About 70% of all potatoes grown in the United States have germplasm in their pedigrees from the genebank. Three cultivar releases were published in the American Journal of Potato Research in 2007: Blazer Russet, Dakota Crisp and MegaChip. Each is known to contain wild species.
    3. The impact of genebank contributions is also evident in the numerous publications in 2007 that provide information that ultimately contribute to better exploitation of the germplasm resource. Publications report section lists 89 papers, 53 abstracts, 1 patent, 2 patents pending and 4 theses which report the use of NRSP-6 Solanum introductions this year.
    4. The impact of the genebank is expected to increase in the future for several reasons. 1) Mutants discovered and characterized by staff will be increasingly valuable as research models. 2) Intragenic transformation of potato has now been demonstrated and identified as a kind of GMO much more accepted by the consumer, so useful exotic potato genes will be increasingly valuable as the technology to easily insert them into existing cultivars improves. 3) Potato is rapidly expanding in large new growing regions, so the need for genetic resources for breeding in new environments and for new tastes will surge. 4) The collection and organization of data at the genebank for an ever-increasing array of traits (e.g., nutritional) is expected to become more and more critical for breeding efficiency.
    5. The genebank‘s stocks are a critical resource to address the pressure on the industry from extreme increases in costs of inputs: e.g., fertilizers, fungicides, irrigation. NRSP6 cooperators are using the genebank‘s diversity to make an impact through new cultivars that have, for example, resistance to later blight, early blight, pink rot, powdery scab; and can produce high yields of quality potatoes with about 2/3 of normal fertilizer inputs.
    Last Modified: 11-Aug-2009

    Date of Annual Report: 07/08/2009

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 07/08/09 to 07/09/09
  • Period the Report Covers: 01/2008 to 12/2008

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    All informational files plus the minutes of this meeting are contained in the atttachment link at the end of this section with title "Copy of Minutes":

    - ANNUAL REPORT CY08

    - GENEBANK UPDATES SINCE 2008 ANNUAL REPORT

    - TAC09 MEETING AGENDA

    - TAC09 MINUTES

    - TAC09 RESOLUTIONS

    ======================================

    NRSP-6 TAC09 ANNUAL MEETING

    Peninsula Ag Research Station / Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

    July 8

    Chair David Douches called the meeting to order at 8:30am.

    Walter De Jong (secretary) was not able to attend this meeting. Jiwan Palta volunteered to take the minutes of the meeting.

    Ben Brancel is representing Dean Molly Jahn, who would come to meeting around noon. She would like to have few minutes to talk to the group.

    Benoit Bizimungu is representing Richard Tarn who retired from his position recently.

    Chair asked for the approval of the agenda for 2009 meeting. C. Miller moved, J. Palta second. Motion approved unanimously.

    John Bamberg reported that genebank has accomplished the tasks they were directed to do at the 2008 TAC meeting. Impact statements were added to the Annual Report. Progress was made in seed increase techniques. Enhanced communications to clientele (farmers, citizens of the state) on the importance of the genebank. John and Max attended each of the four regional SAESD spring meetings and gave presentations on NRPS6 to the directors.

    Chuck Brown indicated that a pie chart outlining the state and federal support would be useful.

    Ed Ashworth asked the group about the possibility of generating support for the genebank from private foundations. J. Palta indicated that in the past Rockefeller Foundation supported potato research. There is a growing public interest in "green/sustainable" agriculture, with which NRSP6 is a good fit.

    Chuck Brown indicated that there is a perception that we are releasing too many varieties as compared to what the growers can handle. Discussion followed on developing varieties in relation to sustainability e.g. better water use efficiency, better soil nutrient utilization efficiency, better human nutrition, etc. This could give industry such as McDonalds to advertize that potatoes they serve are produced with less chemical and water input etc (sustainability rating).

    Robert Hoopes indicated that although several traits such as high yield, dry matter, storability, etc., are of interest to the industry, the concept of locally grown is important to the public. In addition, lowering acrylamide is one of the top priorities.

    Chuck Brown informed that there will be a one day brainstorming session at the Potato Expo in January 2010. There will be attempt to produce a PAA-NPC document on research priorities at the national level. J. Palta suggested that genebank could have a booth at the Potato Expo. Everyone was positive about this idea. C. Brown will call John Keeling to see if the booth fee could be waived.

    Chair appointed resolution committee: Chuck Brown, Creighton Miller

    Last year's minutes approved: Brown moved and Thill seconded; approved unanimously.

    Agenda Item 5. Lead AA

    C.Y. Hu indicated that AA should come from NC region. Lead AA is decided by the four regional AAs. After some discussion it was suggested that Molly Jahn be approached for the lead AA. Ben Brancel indicated that Molly Jahn is interested in finding long term sustainability for the genebank. She is supportive of finding new sources of funding. C.Y. Hu noted that renewal document should be written this fall. This is to include review of the progress over past 5 years and proposed project for next 5 years. Current project will end Sept. 2010. All NRSPs are going through review process. NRSP-6 received support from the Western and NC directors and not much from the NE directors. Richard Guthrie can solidify support from the southern directors. The 1% OTT funding which is currently the source of the NRSP6 budget is not mandated by law, and could be rescinded by the SAES directors. Larry Curtis has been appointed as the new AA for the WR.

    C. Miller thanked C. Y. for the outstanding job he has done as the lead AA.

    Agenda Item 6: Other regional AAs

    Ed Ashworth - NE: This project is sitting in a vulnerable position. There is some good news. Senate yesterday approved 4% increase in Hatch dollars. Rikki Sterret's position has been filled. Large amount of potatoes are shipped from West and Midwest to East (high consumption area). Greg Porter is looking into late blight resistant cultivars to reduce the weekly applications of fungicides currently used in the East.

    Richard Guthrie - S: John Bamberg's visit to the spring directors' meeting made a good impression, particularly in showing the substantial support the genebank is already receiving from sources other than MRF. Richard would retire before the meeting next year. It was suggested that to generate support of NRSP-6, a one page agenda brief on NRSP-6 should be submitted to the regional meetings each year that an in-person report is not presented.

    Molly Jahn - NC: After lunch Dean Molly Jahn made some comments regarding support of the Potato genebank. She indicated that with the consistent reduction in state funding we have to look for alternative ways (Business Model) to support the genebank. The UW-CALS investment in potato research and extension is very high and is second to dairy. Ben Brancel will be helping in this. Molly indicated that she would identify a senior person who could serve in the Lead AA role.

    Agenda Item 7. Regional and ARS Tech Representatives

    Chuck Brown - ARS: Nine scientists provided reports. Kathy Haynes is expanding germplasm base resistant to late blight. Rich Novy is looking at Potato Cyst Nematode resistance and Dennis Halterman looking for genes similar to RB. Chuck Brown evaluated 50 accessions from the Andigena core collection and seems to have found good resistance to black dot. Reported on an excellent example of a success story of taking the NRSP6 germplasm and transferring disease resistance to develop materials. Took 20 years to produce an advanced clone with multiple resistances to root rot nematode using S. bulbocastanum fusion hybrids of John Helgeson. Resistance against cold sweetening in Premier Russet came from Solanum phureja. Ranger Russet is being replaced by Alturas and Umatilla.

    Walter DeJong - NE: Could not attend the meeting but provided this information: A total of 359 units of germplasm were distributed in the Northeast region, for purposes ranging from testing old cultivars for possible adoption by organic growers, to studying the genetics of tuber flesh pigmentation, to taking photographs for books and magazines.

    Creighton Miller - S: Summarized activities. Major emphases is Zebra Chip. There have been multimillion-dollars losses to the chip industry. Two years ago Texas gave $800,000 for research effort in this area for a two-year period. Primary support was for pathologist. Some support came to the breeding program. Eight selections have been identified that are free of Zebra chip when planted in the presence of natural inoculums. Another project is looking for resistance at the species level. Eventually we may have to look at wild species for the sources of resistances. Robert Hoopes indicated that this is a serious problem for the chip industry. Craig Yencho is looking at S. phureja as a source for heat resistance. Richard Veilleux's doubled monoploids of S. phureja from the genebank are the basis of the potato genome sequencing project. The Miller lab has found strong anti-cancer properties in extracts of Solanum jamesii from the genebank.

    Isabel Vales - W: Isabel Vales could not attend the meeting but sent a report including this information: During 2008, the Potato Introduction Station (NRSP-6, Sturgeon Bay, WI) supplied potato materials to the following Western states: Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Many potato clones used in Western breeding were derived from material provided by NRSP6: PVY resistance from andigena, S. stoloniferum; Potato Tuber Worm (PTW) resistance from S. berthaultii; late blight resistance from S. acaule, S. demissum, S. phureja, S. bulbocastanum, and S. tuberosum spp. andigena.

    Dave Douches - NC: Dave Douches: Evaluating a diploid population for Colorado Potato Beetle resistance. Also evaluating S. microdontum selections for tuber and foliar late blight resistance in cooperation with genebank staff, and they have identified a potent R gene. Seven species are being used in the breeding program for variety development. Germplasm is being evaluated for ornamental potential. Mentioned use of germplasm for looking for natural genetic variation for PVY resistance and the great potential for intragenic transformation developed by Simplot for using potato genes mined from the NRSP6 genebank stocks. Reviewed the upcoming SOLCAP workshop scheduled for Sunday August 9th at the PAA meeting at Fredericton, New Brunswick. Douches lab found that there was a correlation between acrylamide and chip color and sugar over a broad range of tuber sugar contents. However, in the very low sugar range (0.001 to 0.002) there was no correlation. Moisture levels and fructose contents of the tuber can affect acrylamide.

    Other reports

    Christian Thill: Major effort is being directed to select for late blight, PVY and common scab. Have developed a promising technology using liquid nitrogen freezing of the meristem cells to eliminate virus contamination.

    Jiwan Palta: In addition to yield, grade, disease resistance and pest resistance, the breeding program has a major effort on tuber internal quality, storage and fry quality, scab resistance and late blight resistance. Several species and progenies thereof are being screened for health related traits such as K+. Numbers of species are also being looked at for desirable traits such as tuber Ca, cold tolerance and soft rot resistance. The Wisconsin program is a closely integrated with the genebank's evaluation mission.

    Agenda Item 8 Agriculture and Agrifood Canada.

    Benoit Bizimungu : Richard Tarn retired. Benoit Bizimungu is moving and consolidating the potato breeding program in Fredericton. His program has utilized S. oplocense, S. chacoense and S. pinnatissectum. The breeding program emphases include potato beetle resistance, bacterial wilt resistance, drought resistance and new byproducts.

    Agenda Item 9: Industry Perspective

    Robert Hoopes: Frito Lay gets potatoes from every region. Frito Lay has had long-term relationship with the genebank. Have used varieties over the years that have 15-20 species in their pedigrees. All varieties have S. chacoense in their pedigrees. PVY resistance obtained from S. stoloniferum. S. berthaultii may have Zebra chip resistance. Dan Ronis' program is cooperating with genebank staff on nutritional and quality properties like starch ratio, acrylamide (low asparagine, low pH) and high tuber calcium accessions. Some studies have shown that blanching can reduce acrylamide by 90% but the texture of the chip was influenced.

    Simplot representative Caius Rommens' travel plans were thwarted at the last minute, but has sent a report / letter of support that will be included in the project renewal document. Simplot is setting up a new research farm near Boise, ID.

    Agenda Item 11: Collecting and Taxonomy

    David Spooner distributed several copies of his publications. He pointed out that Jack Hawkes had documented 232 potato species. His research has shown that many of these should be combined, and now the number of species is less than half.

    Agenda Item 10: NRSP-6 report and FY 10 outlook

    See "ar2008.doc" at http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6/admin.html for Annual Report, and interim update report "Genebank News and Activities since 2008 Annual Report.doc". ALL OF THESE FILES PLUS THE RECORD OF THIS MEETING ARE CONTAINED IN THE NIMSS ATTACHMENT TO THIS SECTION "Copy of Minutes" IN PROPER FORMAT FOR VIEWING AND PRINTING)

    John Bamberg asked the group to provide feedback on the NRSP-6 report and impact statements which are posted on the website. Alfonso del Rio is continuing to perform technical research to help the genebank find the most efficient methods to preserve the maximum genetic diversity. Recent developments in evaluation include an emphasis on consumer-oriented traits, particularly nutritional ones like antioxidants, potassium, glycemic index, pH, satiety value, and anticancer agents. The genebank is also pursuing multiplex comprehensive evaluation of S. microdontum, which has numerous valuable traits and is quite easily introgressed into the tuberosum breeding pool.

    Budget: University of Wisconsin salary support to the genebank discontinued at the end of FY08. Molly Jahn pointed out that state funded research support is threatened at this time. All state employees are subjected to furlough for 8 days. She indicated that we have to look for alternate sources of support possibly approaching foundations (including Mc Donald's etc.) and others. Ben Brancel suggested that we should create a list that captures must do, should do, and would do (with minimum support). We should look for opportunities for partnerships. John Bamberg pointed out that genebank staff are already vigorously pursuing such extramural funds and opportunities to achieve greater efficiency, and that the program has already significantly down-sized. He asked the group if a budget of $150,000 should be proposed. C. Y. Hu indicated that they will not vote for no more than $150,000. Ed Ashworth suggested that a request should be made for $150,000 and an additional amount proportional to the increase associated with Hatch increase.

    Project-Renewal Writing: The following were specified to be on the renewal writing team: Ann Marie Thro, Chuck Brown, CY Hu, Molly Jahn, Larry Chandler, Peter Bretting and Christian Thill. John Bamberg will prepare a draft soon.

    Agenda Item 13: CSREES (Ann Marie Thro)

    Ann Marie Thro provided an update on the budget and CSREES in general. Potato special grant budget is 9% less this year. Increases in Hatch and AFRI budgets for 2010 are proposed by the President. Dr. Rajiv Shah is going to be the new Undersecretary of Agriculture. CSREES will have a name change to National Institute for Food and Agriculture. NRI is replaced and expanded by AFRI. It will include plant and animal breeding research (see synopsis at: www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/afri/afri_synopsis.html). Ann Marie pointed out that non-technical summary in CRIS reports is very important to communicate impact. Also very important to acknowledge grants and agency in all publications.

    Agenda Item 14: APHIS/ Quarantine (Jorge Abad)

    Jorge Abad explained the procedure for bringing potato germplasm into the country. They (Joe Foster, leader) screen for all virus and bacterial diseases. Zebra chip has appeared in tomato. Last year two new viruses were intercepted (JCM-23, JCM-79).

    Meeting adjourned at 5:30pm followed by supper at "The Log Den".

    July 9

    Chairman Dave Douches called the meeting to order at 8:30am.

    Dave Douches reported that there is an exhibit at the National Botanical Gardens on the Mall by the Capitol in Washington DC. John Bamberg has been asked to present there in the fall of 2010. With assistance from USPB (John Keeling) an exhibit featuring potato transgenic work from MSU is on display there, including a video of transgenic potato displaying resistance to Colorado potato beetle (shown to the group).

    Agenda item 15: Review and approve resolutions

    Four resolutions were unanimously approved (see http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6/admin.html or "Copy of Minutes" link at the end of this section for full text):

    1: Memorial for Robert Hougas, first genebank Project Leader.

    2. Appreciation to CY Hu for outstanding leadership as Lead AA.

    3. Appreciation to Project staff for hosting the current meeting.

    4. Appreciation to Richard Guthrie for excellent service as SR AA

    Agenda item 16: Elect new officers and set next meeting

    Moved and unanimously approved that the current officers advance for the upcoming year: Isabel Vales = Chair, Walter DeJong = Vice Chair, and that Creighton Miller serve as secretary.

    The 2010 meeting will be joint with the July 26-29 RTAC/PGOC/CGC Chairs' meeting at Geneva, NY.

    Creighton Miller moved to adjourn the business meeting, second by J. Palta and unanimously accepted.

    Tour of genebank followed until about noon.

    Respectfully Submitted, Jiwan Palta


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    A complete report of Accomplishments, Impact Statements, and Publications, properly formatted for viewing and printing is provided at http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6/admin.html "ar2008.doc" and attached under the Publications section following.

    Impact Statements:
    1. Beyond providing stocks, NRSP-6 staff members are involved in discovering and developing associated germplasm tools and information. Among these are self compatibility, gibberellin, and 2n gamete mutants; cut-stem pollination, hormone pre-treatment of seeds for better germination, haploid- extracting pollinators, and 2n gamete breeding technique. Yukon Gold, one of the most popular and name-recognized tablestock cultivars, has S. phureja 195198, an exotic cultivated species from NRSP-6 as a grandparent, and was bred using the 2n gamete technique.
    2. Evaluation for a wide variety of useful traits has also been designed, contracted and documented by staff. Such work is the foundation for deploying exotic genes in new cultivars. One recent example is the release of cultivar PA99N82-4 bred with the Mexican wild species S. bulbocastanum from NRSP-6. It has high resistance to nematodes that can only be controlled by fumigation at an estimated cost of $20M per year, not counting the cost in risks to human and environmental health posed by use of toxic chemicals.
    3. The genebank goal is maximum diversity. But because funds for collecting, preserving, distributing and evaluating are limited, reaching that goal depends on maximizing efficiency through quality control and technology R&D. Thus, we collaborate with other world genebanks to study the partitioning and vulnerability of diversity in our collections. Examples of impact of this area are the intergenebank potato database, identification of more diversity-intense sites for future collecting, and confirming that the rare alleles within some populations within certain species are not explained by introgression of alleles common in another sympatric species.
    4. One way the overall impact of these contributions can be measured is by the occurrence of NRSP-6 germplasm in the pedigrees of new, improved potato cultivars. About 70% of all potatoes grown in the United States have germplasm from the genebank in their pedigrees. Both cultivar releases published in the American Journal of Potato Research in 2008, Premier Russet and Dakota Diamond, have exotic species from NRSP-6 in their pedigrees. The great-grandmother of the latter is S. chacoense 472812, a wild potato species originally collected in Argentina.
    5. Another gauge of impact is in the numerous publications in 2008 providing information that pushes potato science forward. Section 6 lists 37 papers, 85 abstracts, and 4 theses which report the results of studies associated with NRSP-6 Solanum stocks this year
    Last Modified: 08-Sep-2009

    Date of Annual Report: 09/10/2010

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 07/27/10 to 07/28/10
  • Period the Report Covers: 01/2009 to 06/2010

    • Participants:

    URL: Copy of participant list
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    THE DOCUMENT ATTACHED INCLUDES TAC10 MEETING MINUTES AND ALL ASSOCIATED REPORTS Additional information is available on the project website: http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    The Accomplishments of this project are contained in the Annual Report starting on p. 10 of the attached complete document recording the TAC10 meeting. Additional details are available at the project website: http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6.

    Impact Statements:
    1. An impact statement specific for the previous year is given on page 14 of the attached document. A more comprehensive impact statement is available at the project website: http://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6. Pages 23-55 of the attached document provide the impact of project activities as reported by representatives of the Northcentral, Southern, Northeastern, Western and USDA/ARS representatives at the meeting.
    Last Modified: 08-Aug-2011
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