Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

NCCC215 meeting Dec 10-11, 2018

Hyatt Regency Chicago O’Hare

Chair: Jeff Endelman (WI)

Vice-chair: Dennis Halterman

Secretary: Laura Shannon

Monday 12/10/18

 Call to order by Jeff Endelman. 

 Agenda:

Monday

1-3:15 Research presentations

3:15 -3:45 Break

3:45 – 5:30 Research presentations

Introductions – see attached sign in list

 Research Projects

 Wisconsin

• Maria Caraza-Harter –  Endelman – Skin Set and Dormancy in Red Potatoes
• Ruth Genger – Dawson – Participatory potato breeding and selection for Midwest organic systems
• Li Meng – Jansky – Potato pollen analysis through impedance flow cytometry
• Shelley Jansky (for Jim Busse and Paul Bethke) – Inbreeding Red Norland
• Shelley Jansky -- Identifying CPB resistant clones, DM x M6 (F5, F6 populations), Dihaploid extraction
• Dennis Halterman (for Sidrat Abdullah) – Development of diploid germplasm with late and early blight resistance
• Dennis Halterman – Identifying host target(s) of infestans effector IPI-O1
• Hari Karki – Halterman – Application of capture based NGS technology in mapping and cloning genes in potato
• Alfonso del Rio (for John Bamberg) – USPG collecting trip SW-2018
• Alfonso del Rio – Promoting sustainable potato agriculture in the Andean region by breeding for frost tolerance

Minnesota

• Heather Tuttle – Shannon – Diversity analysis of diploids and tetraploids using GBS data
• Husain Agha – Shannon – Dihaploid Seed Production
• Cari Schmitz Carley – Shannon – Quantifying differentiation between South American collections and US breeding clones

Michigan

• Felix Enciso-Rodriguez – Douches – Overcoming self-incompatibility in diploid potatoes using CRISPR/Cas-9
• Kate Shaw – Douches – Dihaploid Potato Production at Michigan State University
• Maher Alsahlany – Douches – Introgressing Self-compatibility to Solanum tuberosum dihaploids for diploid variety development
• Chen Zhang – Douches—Application of molecular markers in marker assisted selection in Michigan State Breeding program
• Thilani Jayakody – Douches -- Gene editing in diploid potato
• Natalie Kaiser – Douches – Deploying durable Colorado potato beetle resistant diploid breeding lines
• Matt Zuehlke -- Douches – Certified Seed Minituber Production
• Greg Streere – Douches – Michigan State University Potato Grading Line Upgrade

Tuesday 12/11/18

Jeff Endelman called the meeting back to order and reminded us of the agenda.

Tuesday

8:15 – 9:00 Approve minutes, new business, scheduling 2019 meetings, officer elections, announcements

9-10:30 Breeder talks

10:30-11 Break

11-12 Breeder presentations

Susie Thompson moved to approve the minutes and Dave Douches seconded. Unanimously approved. Jeff reminded us that the North Central Region breeders we need to submit a report to Ray Hammerschmidt.

When should we meet? 12/9-12/10 or 12/2-12/3?  We will meet 12/9-12/10, location TBD.

Elections for secretary, call for nominations: Dennis Halterman nominated Dave Douches. Dave accepted the nomination. Susie Thompson moved to close nominations. Dave Douches unanimously approved.

Announcements

Ray Hammerschmidt– When you write reports think about the difference between impacts and accomplishments. Work on diploids, grants that come out of the group, varieties being used all count as accomplishments.

USDA attempting to consolidate types of programs.  Farm bill moving ahead, senate version getting traction. Two open positions at MSU – dry bean breeding and genetics position and plant resilience broadly defined.

 Dave Douches – Steve Tanksley has a position open and there is a USDA ARS position at Aberdeen for a molecular geneticist to work with potato breeders (there’s also a post doc there). Jeff Stark’s position in University of Idaho has reopened – looking for a potato agronomist.

 Craig Yencho – looking to hire a masters level position with field work and data base management components.

 Dave Douches – Re-designing the SNP array, adding 14K SNPs from diploid germplasm and Glenn Bryan’s GBS analysis to the 22K array.  Reduce ascertainment bias, increasing coverage, eliminating gaps. The price is probably going to stay at approx. $50.

 Jeff Endelman – For the first time in 2018 Atlantic was unseated as the primary chip cultivar by Lamoka.  Congrats to Walter!

• Potato R gene KASP panel
• Excellence in breeding initiative, High throughput genotyping service established for CIGAR breeding programs
• Cheap KASP assay to screen breeding lines
• ~$3/sample for 10 SNPs (includes DNA extraction)
• CIP breeding program has begun to utilize Ry-adg based on M6 amplicon
• Exploring whether other public programs can utilize this service, adding Ry-sto, H1, and R8
• Jeff is still working out the details with Intertek
• It can be customized, everyone can have their own

 Shelley Jansky – Diploid breeding update

• We were funded for a planning grant
• We had a planning meeting in October
• We have submitted as SCRI pre-proposal with 6 PDs – Shelley Jansky, Dave Douches, Jeff Endelman, Laura Shannon, Paul Bethke, and Robin Buell
• If asked to submit a full proposal we will need help with dihaploid extraction and evaluation and we’re hoping other programs are interested in participating.

Jeff Endelman – SCRI polyploid tools proposal

• Isabel Vales and Jeff Endelman are working on the potato part

Breeders Presentations

Jeff Endelman – Wisconsin

Susie Thompson – North Dakota

Laura Shannon – Minnesota

NCCC 215 Accomplishments

Douches (MSU)

Application of Molecular Markers in MSU Potato Breeding

With the development of molecular markers for potato breeding, marker-assist selection has been incorporated into our routine breeding practice and greatly facilitate the selection process. Some of the main markers that are used at MSU include: RYSC3 and M6, Potato virus Y (PVY) resistance markers; RxSP, a Potato virus X (PVX) resistance marker; TG689, a Golden Nematode resistance marker; RB and R8, Late Blight resistance marker. PVY markers have been the most frequently used tools to assist selection in our program due to the importance of PVY resistance. According to the pedigrees, selections from our single-hill trial (1st year of field selection) are screened for PVY markers every year. This allowed for a prioritization of the space in the field, and for earlier, more informed decisions in variety selection.

 Decoding S. chacoense-derived Colorado potato beetle resistance

Introgression of Colorado potato beetle resistance from S. chacoense-derived diploid recombinant inbred lines into cultivated backgrounds is being conducted. Subsequent marker assisted selection will yield diploid breeding lines with beetle resistance and desirable tuber traits. The spatio-temporal durability of this glycoalkaloid-based host plant resistance will be assessed using Colorado potato beetle populations from potato growing regions across the nation and examining 10 successive generations of beetles grown on host plant resistant material.  Furthermore, the development of cross-resistance by beetles grown on host plant resistant material to commercial insecticides will be examined to inform the most sustainable deployment of this germplasm."

 New Grading line for trial plot evaluation at MSU

Michigan State University's potato group updated its grading line in 2018. Variable speed drives control: a new lift; custom built barrel washer; grading table; and Kerian speed sizer. Incorporation of bar-coded labels, and scales synchronized to computer hot keys, have improved the speed, accuracy and efficiency of the grading process.  All entities of the potato group: Potato Breeding and Genetics; Potato Outreach Program; pathologists and soil fertility researchers have access to this new equipment.

 Overcoming self-incompatibility in diploid potato using CRISPR-Cas9

The aim of this project was to generate a targeted knock-out (KO) of the S-RNase gene, involved in gametophytic self-incompatibility in diploid potatoes, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology in an effort to avoid self-pollen degradation. We identified S-RNase alleles with flower-specific expression in two diploid self-incompatible lines using genome resequencing data. S-RNase gene mapped to chromosome 1 within a low recombination region. S-RNase KO lines were obtained causing premature stop codons. Fruits were set in selected KO and produced viable T1 seeds, and a Cas9-free KO line. Our results suggest that creating S-RNase KO can contribute to generation of self-compatible lines as a first step for the generation of commercial diploid cultivars.

 Gene editing in diploid potato

MSU’s breeding program has developed diploid germplasm with important agronomic qualities. These lines can be further characterized on traits for the use of gene editing. Thus, the first objective of my thesis project is to characterize the MSU diploid germplasm for important molecular and morphological traits such as regeneration capability. The second major objective is to use gene editing, namely, CRISPR-Cas9 to knockout vacuolar invertase (VInv) in select diploid lines. The overall goal is to further advance the diploid breeding program by introducing economically important traits and proving the utility of gene editing in potato.   

Introgressing Self-compatibility to Solanum tuberosum Dihaploids for Diploid Variety Development

Dihaploids of cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) have been produced for over 50 years to reduce the breeding and genetic challenges of autopolyploidy. Most dihaploids are male sterile (MS) that reduces the benefit of lower ploidy level of cultivated tetraploid potato. In this study, we used three self-compatibility (SC) donors to introgress SC into a wide range of dihaploid germplasm through a series of crosses to dihaploids which we refer to as S. tuberosum backcrossing. The SC increased from 11% in the F1 generation to 33% in the BC2 generations. Over 6,000 genome-wide SNPs were used to characterize the germplasm diversity, heterozygosity, and structure in two backcrossing generations. The BC2 generation was significantly improved regarding maturity, scab resistance, average tuber number, however, the yield in BC2 was not greater than the F1 and BC1 generations.

 Certified NFT Minituber production at Michigan State University

For 2 years, the MSU Potato Breeding program has operated its own certified NFT minituber production greenhouse. The ability to produce certified seed allows faster introduction of early generation material to the potato industry. It also helps position the program for participation in international trials. This presentation will discuss some of the operational aspects involved in certified seed production as well as provide some insight into things we have learned through experience.

Transgenic Approaches to Building Late Blight and Stress Tolerance into Commercial Potatoes

MSU conducts genetic engineering research to introgress and test economically important traits into potato.  We have a USAID-funded project to create and commercialize 3-R-gene potato varieties in Bangladesh and Indonesia.  This a partnership with Simplot Plant Sciences.  Simplot has been creating the plants for the target countries.  Greenhouse trials show that a high level of resistance to late blight has been achieved in events that have no backbone and are single inserts.  Trials are planned for the fall of 2019.  We also are exploring the value of XERICO for drought tolerance.  We transformed Ranger Russet with constructs that constitutively and under drought stress express the XERICO gene.  A small field trial was conducted with transplants in 2018.  The XERICO events performed well and had a higher specific gravity than Ranger Russet. 

 Variety Development

Michigan State University released Mackinaw, which is a storage chip-processing potato with PVY resistance, late blight resistance and moderate scab tolerance.  They also released Huron Chipper, which is a late blight-resistant storage chipper with a good size profile for the chip processing industry. 

 Endelman (UW-Madison)

            Foundation seed of two new potato varieties was released to growers in 2018. W9576-11Y is a yellow tablestock variety with high yield potential, attractive tubers, and intermediate maturity. W9433-1rus is a light-skinned, tablestock russet variety that bulks very quickly but with late vine maturity and skin set. Our 2016 red tablestock release W8405-1R was named ‘Red Prairie’ in 2018, and production increased to 29 acres of certified seed. We also received notice that the USDA will issue PVP certificates for the varieties ‘Pinnacle’ and ‘Hodag’.

            The Endelman Lab published two manuscripts on potato breeding and genetics in 2018. Endelman et al. (2018) demonstrated the use of genome-wide markers to predict breeding values, which enables superior clones to be selected as parents more accurately and quickly. Schmitz Carley et al. (2018) used six years of data from 10 locations of the National Chip Processing Trial to quantify the amount of genotype x environment interaction for yield and specific gravity. Endelman delivered five oral presentations on potato breeding and genetics at scientific conferences and three outreach presentations targeted to growers, processors, and other stakeholders in the potato industry.

 Shannon (UMN)

The Shannon lab completed the first field season of the reconstituted Minnesota potato breeding program in summer 2018. Their current focus is to develop new Minnesota germplasm through crossing and selecting from unselected families from other programs. Additionally they are evaluating the legacy material from the previous breeder, Dr. Christian Thill. The remaining cultivars from Thill were genotyped on the 22K SolCAP array and it was determined that the Minnesota program shared a genetic basis with neighboring breeding programs. Of the 34 remaining legacy cultivars which had been grown in the same production field for six years from harvested tubers rather than clean seed, 10 have tested virus free after heat treatment and 24 are still undergoing anti-viral tissue culture.

            Shannon delivered four presentations at national and international scientific conferences and five talks targeted at growers and industry. 

 Jansky (USDA-ARS)

            We are beginning our new CRIS project to identify and clonally maintain 200 wild species plants for use by breeders and geneticists.  We have screened for Colorado potato beetle resistance in five accessions from three wild species and will select the most resistant clones for the collection.  Self-compatible plants have been found in two of the accessions.  These will be valuable for our inbred-hybrid breeding efforts. We continue to create recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from interspecific hybrids.  Some have a higher than average proportion of cultivated germplasm and are highly fertile and self-compatible.  These will also be used for breeding.  During the summer of 2018, we evaluated a set of RILs for root development in the field.  Large differences were detected in root development.  In the summer of 2018, we also carried out a large dihaploid extraction effort, making over 31,000 pollinations on cultivars and generating 1091 potential dihaploids.  Three of the parents are russets, so they have the potential to produce russeted dihaploids, which will be especially valuable for breeding. Finally, we have been testing an impedence flow cytometer for measuring pollen viability.  This has been a challenging endeavor, but we have made good progress and developed a protocol that is producing consistent results.

 Halterman (USDA-ARS)
Molecular markers linked to Verticillium wilt resistance in potato germplasm

Verticillium wilt (VW) of potato (Solanum tuberosum), caused by two different soil-borne fungi Verticillium albo-atrum R & B or V. dahliae Kleb., is a major limiting factor in potato production throughout North America. Yield losses in potato associated with the disease can reach up to 50% in severely infested fields. In tomato, resistance to race 1 of Verticillium dahliae is conferred by a dominant Ve gene that has been exploited in breeding programs from more than 50 years. However, previously developed markers within the Ve gene in potato are unreliable in predicting resistance. The goal of this project is to identify additional genomic regions that determine VW resistance in potato. An F2 mapping population was developed by selfing an F1 individual derived from two homozygous diploid parents, S. tuberosum DM1-3 (susceptible to VW) and S. chacoense M6 (resistant to VW). Using a rooted cutting protocol, the population was phenotyped and SNP genotyped. A major QTL in chromosome 1 was identified that explains 31% of the phenotypic variation. A total of 22 genes are located within the QTL region, and two genes have been selected for further functional validation studies. Using the sequence information of these two genes, are developing markers to distinguish between resistant and susceptible germplasm.  The marker information will be a valuable tool for potato breeders interested in selecting for VW resistance.

 Molecular interactions that influence virulence contributions of the IPI-O family of Phytophthora infestans effectors

Phytophthora infestans, causal agent of potato late blight, is a destructive pathogen that is a frequently recurring problem worldwide. Several resistance genes exist in potato to counter against this pathogen, but the majority have been overcome after introgression into popular potato varieties. The RB gene, derived from Solanum bulbocastanum, has effector recognition specificity to members of the IPI-O family. Recognition of the IPI-O1 allele by RB elicits a hypersensitive resistance response while IPI-O4 can suppress this response. We have carried out several experiments to determine the virulence contributions of IPI-O1 and IPI-O4 during infection, and to identify host proteins involved in IPI-O recognition/suppression using co-immunoprecipitation and yeast two-hybrid. Our results indicate that both IPI-O1 and IPI-O4 contribute to P. infestans virulence, but their impact is influenced by the pathogen genotype. Protein interaction studies have identified both cytosolic- and membrane-localized host proteins that interact with IPI-O and will help to elucidate the function of these effectors in pathogen virulence. Together, we hope that our understanding of the function of the ubiquitous IPI-O effector will assist us in identifying or developing improved host resistance genes in potato. This work has been included in two publications (Chen and Halterman, 2017a; Chen et al., 2017b)

Foliar resistance to bacteria in potato

Solanaceous crops including tomato, pepper, and eggplant are susceptible to many foliar bacterial pathogens. However, cultivated potato is immune to most pathogenic Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas species. The purpose of this project is to understand the mechanisms involved in limiting infection of bacteria in the foliage of potato. We have previously found that many popular potato cultivars are immune P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000, while many wild species accessions of potato are susceptible or tolerant, suggesting that resistance to foliar pathogens may have been selected during cultivation of potato as a food crop. We have used various DC300 strains defective in pathogenesis. Populations between wild and cultivated potato have also been developed to map the resistance locus using SNP genotyping. The identification of novel genes involved in bacterial resistance will facilitate the development of new varieties of Solanaceous crops.

 Development of diploid potato germplasm containing disease resistance

            Using a combination of diploid wild species hybrids and dihaploid cultivated germplasm from the programs of David Douches (Michigan State) and Shelley Jansky (USDA-ARS), we have developed populations segregating for resistance to potato late blight and early blight. Seventeen families from crosses between various parents were phenotyped using detached leaflet assays and whole plant inoculation assays (greenhouse) to identify individuals with increased resistance to either or both diseases. Three families contained individuals with high levels of late blight resistance and one family had individuals with increased early blight resistance. Selected individuals were grown in the field and assayed for agronomic characteristics including tuber size and shape, specific gravity, and chip quality. Three individuals were chosen for crossing with diploids containing resistance to other diseases, including PVY and Verticillium wilt.

Bamberg (USDA-ARS)

Collected 33 new germplasm accessions in the southwest USA.  Distributed almost 10,000 samples to germplasm to users in 34 states and 13 foreign countries.  Organized and supported screening of the microdontum core collection, resulting in discovery of strong resistance to Dickeya.  Cooperative cold hardiness breeding with Peru resulted in the release of the new cultivar “Wiñay” this year.  The three cultivar releases published in AJPR this year all have wild species in their pedigrees.  A link to the related NRSP6 project’s annual reports can be found on NIMSS and the USPG website, https://www.ars-grin.gov/nr6/admin.html

 Grants awarded in 2018

 Title

Publications

Abdullah S, Halterman D. 2018. “Methods for Transient Gene Expression in Wild Relatives of Potato,” in Plant Pathogenic Fungi and Oomycetes, vol. 1848, Methods in Molecular Biology, W. Ma, T. Wolpert, Eds., New York City: Humana Press. pp. 131–138.

Bali S, Patel G, Novy R, Vining K, Brown C, Holm D, Porter G, Endelman J, Thompson A, Sathuvalli V. 2018. Evaluation of genetic diversity among Russet potato clones and varieties from breeding programs across the United States. PLoS ONE 13(8):e0201415.

Bali S, Robinson BR, Sathuvalli V, Bamberg JB, Goyer A. 2018. Single nucleotide polymorphism markers associated with high folate content in wild potato species. PLoS ONE 13(2):e0193415

Bamberg, J.B.  2018.  Diurnal alternating temperature improves germination of some wild potato (Solanum) botanical seedlots.  American Journal of Potato Research 95:368-373.

Bisognin, D. A., N. C. Manrique-Carpintero, and D. S. Douches. 2018. QTL Analysis of Tuber Dormancy and Sprouting in Potato. American Journal of Potato Research 95:374–382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-018-9638-0

Crossley, M.S., S.D. Schoville, D.M. Haagenson, and S.H. Jansky. 2018. Host plant resistance to Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera:Chrysomelidae) in diploid F2 families derived from crosses between cultivated and wild potato. Journal of Economic Entomology.  doi: 10.1093/jee/toy120

Deperi, S. I., Ma. E. Tagliotti, M. Cecilia Bedogni, N. C. Manrique-Carpintero, J. Coombs, R. Zhang, D. Douches, and M. A. Huarte. 2018. Discriminant analysis of principal components and pedigree assessment of genetic diversity and population structure in a tetraploid potato panel using SNPs. PloS One 13:e0194398.

Ellis, D., O. Chavez, J. J. Coombs, J. V. Soto, R. Gomez, D. S. Douches, A. Panta, R. Silvestre, and N. L. Anglin. 2018. Genetic Identity in Genebanks: Application of the SolCAP 12K SNP Array in Fingerprinting and Diversity Analysis in the Global In Trust Potato Collection. Genome 61:523-537.

Enciso-Rodriguez, F., D. Douches, M. Lopez-Cruz, J. Coombs, and G.de los Campos. 2018. Genomic Selection for Late Blight and Common Scab Resistance in Tetraploid Potato (Solanum tuberosum). G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 8:2471-2481.

Endelman JB, Schmitz Carley CA, Bethke PC, Coombs JJ, Clough ME, da Silva WL, De Jong WS, Douches DS, Frederick CM, Haynes KG, Holm DG, Miller JC, Muñoz PR, Navarro FM, Novy RG, Palta JP, Porter GA, Rak KT, Sathuvalli VR, Thompson AL, Yencho GC. 2018. Genetic variance partitioning and genome-wide prediction with allele dosage information in autotetraploid potato. Genetics 209:77–87.

Graebner RC, Brown CR, Ingham RE, Hagerty CH, Mojtahedi H, Quick RA, Hamlin LL, Wade N, Bamberg JB, Sathuvalli V. 2018. Resistance to Meloidogyne chitwoodi identified in wild potato species.  American Journal of Potato Research 95:679-686.

Hirsch RL, Miller S, Halterman D. 2018. An inquiry-based investigation of bacterial soft rot of potato. The American Biology Teacher. 80: 594-599.

Jansky, S., D. Douches, and K. Haynes. 2018. Transmission of scab resistance to tetraploid potato via unilateral sexual polyploidization. American Journal of Potato Research. 95:272-277.

Jansky, S., D. Douches, and K. Haynes. 2018. Three tetraploid clones with resistance to common scab. American Journal of Potato Research. 95:178-182.

Jansky, S.H. and D.M. Spooner. 2018. The evolution of potato breeding. Plant Breeding Reviews. 41:169-214.

Leisner, C. P., J. P. Hamilton, E. Crisovan, N. C. Manrique‐Carpintero, A. P. Marand, L. Newton, G. M. Pham et al. 2018. Genome sequence of M6, a diploid inbred clone of the high‐glycoalkaloid‐producing tuber‐bearing potato species Solanum chacoense, reveals residual heterozygosity. The Plant Journal 94:562-570.

Li, M., H. An, A. Ruthie, C. Bagaza, A. Batushansky, L. Clark, V. Coneva, M.J. Donoghue, E.

            Edwards, D. Fajardo, H. Fang, M. H. Frank, T. Gallaher, S. Gebken, T. Hill, S. Jansky, B. Kaur, P. C. Klahs, L. L. Klein, V. Kuraparthy, W. C. Otoni, J. C. Pires, E. Rieffer, S. Schmerler, E. Spriggs, C. N. Topp, A. van Deynze, K. Zhang, L. Zhu, B.M. Zink, and D. H. Chitwood. 2018. Topological data analysis as a morphometric method: Using persistent homology to demarcate a leaf morphospace. Frontiers in Plant Science 9:1-14.

Majeed, N., B. Javaid, F. Deeba, S. Muhammad Sa. Naqvi, and D. S. Douches. 2018. Enhanced Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. tuberosi Resistance in Transgenic Potato Expressing a Rice GLP Superoxide Dismutase Gene. American Journal of Potato Research  95:383–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-018-9639-z

Mambetova, S., W. W. Kirk, N. Rosenzweig, and D. S. Douches. 2018. Characterization of Late Blight Resistance Potato Breeding Lines with the RB Gene from Solanum bulbocastanum. American Journal of Potato Research 95:564–574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-018-9664-y

Manrique-Carpintero, N. C., J. J. Coombs, G. M. Pham, F. P. E. Laimbeer, G. T. Braz, J. Jiang, R.E. Veilleux, C. R. Buell, and D. S. Douches. 2018. Genome reduction in tetraploid potato reveals genetic load, haplotype variation, and loci associated with agronomic traits. Frontiers in Plant Science 9, 944.

Schmitz Carley CA, Coombs JJ, Clough ME, De Jong WS, Douches, Haynes KG, Higgins CR, Holm DG, Miller Jr. JC, Navarro FM, Novy RG, Palta JP, Parish DL, Porter GA, Sathuvalli VR, Thompson AL, Yencho GC, Zotarelli L, Endelman JB. 2018. Genetic covariance of environments in the National Chip Processing Trial. Crop Science, published online ahead of print, Nov. 8, 2018. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.05.0314

Tai H, De Koeyer D, Sønderkær M, Hedegaard S, Lägue M, Goyer C, Nolan L, Davidson C, Gardner K, Neilson J, Paudel J, Murphy A, Bizimungu B, Wang HY, Xiong X, Halterman D, and Nielsen KL. 2018. Verticillium dahliae disease resistance and the regulatory pathway for tuberization in potato. The Plant Genome. 11: 170040.

Tagliotti, M. E., S. I. Deperi, M. C. Bedogni, R. Zhang, N. C. Manrique Carpintero, J. Coombs, D. Douches, and M. A. Huarte. 2018. Use of easy measurable phenotypic traits as a complementary approach to evaluate the population structure and diversity in a high heterozygous panel of tetraploid clones and cultivars. BMC Genetics 19:8.

Wu S, Zhang B, Keyhaninejad N, Rodriguez G, Kim H, Chakrabarti M, Illa-Berenguer E, Taitano N, Jose Gonzalo M, Diaz A, Pan Y, Leisner C, Halterman D, Buell CR, Weng Y, Jansky S, van Eck H, Willemsen J, Monforte A, Meulia T, and van der Knaap E. 2018. A common genetic mechanism underlies morphological diversity in fruits and other plant organs. Nature Communications. 9:4734.

Yong, YS and SH Jansky. 2018. Considerations for selecting disease resistant wild germplasm: Lessons from a case study of resistance to bacterial soft rot and Colorado potato beetle. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 65:2287-2292.