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 Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research: Wapato, WA
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ARS Home Pacific West Area Wapato, Washington Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Research





- Swisher Grimm, Kylie
- Whitworth, Jonathan
- Novy, Richard - Rich
- Feldman, Max
- Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement (301)

Research Project: **Location:
                            Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research** Project Number: 2092-21220-003-008-R
                        
                        Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement Start Date: Oct 1, 2020
                        
                        End Date: Sep 30, 2024 **Objective:**
                        
                        Objective 1. To train seed potato certification agencies on high throughput detection of potato viruses and to partner with the agencies to develop quality control methods for laboratory assays. 

Whitworth specific obj.  Assist in PVY demonstration plots to be held at 2-3 locations across the U.S. two times during the grant to educate and transfer PVY research to growers and the industry.  

Swisher Grimm specific obj. Screen seed entered in the WA seed lot trial for PMTV to determine the incidence of the virus in seed each year.

Objective 2. To improve virus-vector management through development of epidemiological models and through research-based recommendations for potato production.

Whitworth specific obj.  Investigate movement of PVY in potato treated with crop oil to limit PVY in final crop.  

Swisher Grimm and Feldman specific obj. Develop a Spongospora subterranean (Sss)/PMTV field at the USDA-ARS research site in Prosser, WA, to enable the successful screening of breeding lines for resistance to PMTV and/or Sss.

Objective 3. To develop molecular markers diagnostic for resistance genes against PVY, PMTV, and Ss; to clone at least one PVY resistance gene; and to use proteomic and metabolomic studies to understand virus impacts on the physiology of stored potatoes. 

Novy specific obj. Develop germplasm resistant to necrotic potato tuber viruses, Potato virus Y and Potato mop-top virus (PMTV) as well as powdery scab, the vector for PMTV. 

Whitworth specific obj.  Develop use of CRISPR technology to determine exact location of Ry genes for PVY resistance. 

Feldman specific obj. Develop germplasm resistant to necrotic potato tuber viruses, PVY and PMTV, as well as the vector of PMTV, Spongospora subterranean. Computer vision methods will be developed and used for the rapid screening of Sss-infected tubers. **Approach:**
                        
                        Obj. 1 – 
Whitworth- PVY demonstration plots will be created by originating infected and healthy seed material at Aberdeen for use in nationwide plots.  Whitworth’s lab will acquire and produce the infected and healthy plants of different varieties to be used in the demonstration plots.
Swisher Grimm- Seed lots submitted to the WA state seed lot trial (Mark Pavek, WSU) will be obtained. Four tubers from each lot will be tested for PMTV using standard RT-PCR methods in the laboratory.
Obj. 2 – 
Whitworth- Movement of PVY in crop oil treated potato will be done in greenhouse and field experiments. This will be done in susceptible and partially resistant varieties developed by the breeding program to better understand how crop oil can be used effectively by seed growers to reduce PVY.  
Swisher Grimm and Feldman- The chemical and biological characteristics of available field space will be surveyed, and consultation with experts in soil science, microbiology, and agronomy will be done to develop a prescription to achieve the establishment of Sss in the designated field. Spores will be harvested from the root galls of infected plants found in commercial fields with infection, these will then be applied/spread onto the inoculation site and  the soil will be rototilled to integrate the mixture. The field will be planted with an appropriate host and management practices will be applied to encourage proliferation.
Obj. 3 – 
Whitworth- Hybridizations to develop virus resistant populations and select agronomically acceptable types will be done at Aberdeen, Idaho and germplasm will be shared with other breeding programs in the U.S. to gather performance data and to increase diversity of germplasm at other breeding programs, and for mapping of PVY and PMTV resistance genes.  Development of CRISPR use in tetraploid potato to serve as a tool kit to identify and utilize other disease resistant genes that exist in potato.  
Feldman- Hybridizations will be performed with resistant material to develop PVY resistant clones that can meet the needs of the both the long russet and specialty potato market class. Progeny testing will be used to identify breeding families with desirable characteristics and exceptional families will be used for molecular marker development. Screening of primitive germplasm for resistance to PMTV and its vector organism host Spongospora subterranea (Sss) will be performed using inoculation-based assays in controlled environments. The capability of single lens, stereo lens’ with and without tuber rotation (using a stepper motor), will be evaluated to provide accurate, non-biased quantification of infection coverage on tubers of different skin and flesh colors.


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