Scientists find the gene behind stunted, dark-leaved potato plants
Fu Q, Pu Y, Liu J, Wu P, Wang J
Crop Improvement
Potato breeders often cross wild and cultivated varieties to boost hardiness, and this discovery gives them a genetic marker to avoid accidentally breeding in a hidden defect that stunts growth and delays flowering.
Some potato plants grow oddly: dark, curled leaves, stubby stems, and late flowers. Researchers tracked this problem to a single gene, StCYP90C1, that helps make a growth hormone called brassinosteroid. When they used CRISPR to switch off the gene, plants developed the exact same stunted, dark-leaved look, confirming that low hormone levels are the culprit and giving breeders a way to spot and avoid this flaw in future potato varieties.
Key Findings
A single recessive gene locus (ap) causes abnormal potato architecture: dark-green curled leaves, shortened internodes, and delayed flowering.
The gene StCYP90C1 was identified as the cause; two promoter-region mutations reduce its expression in affected plants, and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout reproduced the same dwarf, BR-deficient traits.
Knockout mutants had significantly lower levels of brassinosteroid precursors 6-deoxocathasterone and cathasterone, confirming the gene's role in hormone biosynthesis, and this mutation should be avoided in breeding programs.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found the gene responsible for a stunted, dark-leaved 'bad architecture' defect in potato plants and showed it works by controlling a plant hormone called brassinosteroid, giving breeders a way to screen out this flaw before it ruins a crop.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
StCYP90C1 modulates plant architecture via regulating brassinosteroid biosynthesis in potato.
Brassinosteroid (BR) exert a crucial regulatory role in shaping plant architecture. However, the BR biosynthesis and underlying genetic variations governing potato plant architecture remain poorly ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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The potato is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.