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Potato developments at James Hutton Institute


September 9, 2021

There have been major developments in potato research at Scotland’s James Hutton Institute (JHI). A team working with international colleagues has identified “previously unexplored ways” Phytophthora infestans, responsible for several European potato famines, breaks through plant cells walls. In addition, JHI scientists have unveiled plans for a “Potato Innovation and Translation Hub: a centre of excellence to translate innovation and research into solutions for the potato industry”.

Crop pathogens such as P. infestans are enormously costly for potato producers around the world and potato production is a sector particularly important to the United Kingdom, having been valued at £771m in 2019.

Researchers at the James Hutton Institute and the University of York, working with colleagues in France, Saudi Arabia and the UK, have “identified previously unexplored ways in which P. infestans breaks through plant cell walls, opening up opportunities for the development of effective and sustainable disease control technologies,” reports the JHI website.

“The research, published in the prestigious scientific journal Science, describes how a family of copper-dependent enzymes is present in P. infestans , promoting its ability to degrade pectin - a key component of plant cell walls - and enabling the pathogen to break through the plant’s defences. By silencing the gene responsible for producing these enzymes, researchers could inhibit the infection of potato plants,” the website adds.

Meanwhile, JHI unveiled plans for the Potato Innovation and Translation Hub at Potatoes in Practice, the largest field-based potato event in the UK. The JHI website reports: “The hub is envisioned as a collaborative partnership of researchers, knowledge brokers and commercial companies, acting as a hub for research and translation of innovation to accelerate the adoption of new research products across the potato value chain.”

Professor Lesley Torrance, JHI’s Executive Director of Science, told the website: “We urgently need to grow varieties adapted to the changing climate and with reduced inputs for sustainable and resilient production systems. To do this, recent advances in breeding technologies can be harnessed to fast track the breeding of new varieties; new developments in modelling, sensors and drone technologies are driving integrated pest management solutions.”

For more information:

  • Read the full story on the advances in P. infestans here
  • Read the full story about the Potato Innovation and Translation Hub here

 



More news from:
    . James Hutton Institute
    . ENDURE - EU Network for the Durable Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies


Website: http://www.hutton.ac.uk

Published: September 13, 2021

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