Abstract:
A novel potato cultivar of the genus and species  Solanum tuberosum , designated FL2006, is disclosed. The invention relates to the tubers of potato variety FL2006, to the plants of potato variety FL2006, to the seeds of potato variety and to methods for producing hybrid potato variety. The invention further relates to potato variety tubers, seeds and plants produced by crossing the potato variety FL2006 with another potato plant, and to Single Gene Converted plants.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a novel potato variety and to the tubers, plants, plant parts, tissue culture and seeds produced by that potato variety.  
           [0002]    The publications and other materials used herein to illuminate the background of the invention and, in particular cases, to provide additional details respecting the practice, are incorporated by reference and for convenience, are referenced in the following text by author and date and are listed alphabetically by author in the appended bibliography.  
           [0003]    The potato is the world&#39;s fourth most important food crop and by far the most important vegetable. Potatoes are currently grown commercially in nearly every state of the United States. Annual potato production exceeds 18 million tons in the United States and 300 million tons worldwide. The popularity of the potato derives mainly from its versatility and nutritional value. Potatoes can be used fresh, frozen or dried, or can be processed into flour, starch or alcohol. They contain complex carbohydrates and are rich in calcium, niacin and vitamin C.  
           [0004]    To keep the potato industry growing to meet the needs of the consuming public, substantial research and development efforts are devoted to the modernization of planting and harvesting of fields and processing of potatoes, and to the development of economically advantageous potato varieties. Through crossbreeding of potatoes, researchers hope to obtain potatoes with the desirable characteristics of good processability, high solids content, high yield, resistance to diseases and pests and adaptability to various growing areas and conditions.  
           [0005]    The U.S. acreage planted in potatoes has declined since the 1960s and 1970s, and this decline, coupled with increasing consumption, must be offset by higher useable yields. In some areas, diseases and pests damage crops despite the use of herbicides and pesticides. The problem of the golden nematode in the United States, presently endemic to portions of New York State, is one example of the destruction to susceptible potato varieties. Potato varieties with high yields, disease resistance and adaptability to new environments can eliminate many problems for the potato grower and provide more plentiful and economical products to the consumers.  
           [0006]    For the potato chip processing industry, potatoes having high solids content, good shipping qualities and good finished chip color can increase production volumes and efficiencies and product acceptability. Potato varieties which yield low-solids tubers result in unnecessary energy usage during the frying process. Moreover, as solids content increases, the oil content of fried products decreases, which is a favorable improvement. Potato varieties in the warm southern tier of states are most in need of solids improvement overall, while those varieties grown and stored in the colder northern tier of states are most in need of the ability to recondition after cool or cold storage to increase their value for use in the potato chip industry. Reconditioning is necessary to elevate the temperature of the potatoes after cold storage and before further processing.  
           [0007]    The research leading to potato varieties which combine the advantageous characteristics referred to above is largely empirical. This research requires large investments of time, manpower, and money. The development of a potato cultivar can often take up to eight years or more from greenhouse to commercial usage. Breeding begins with careful selection of superior parents to incorporate the most important characteristics into the progeny. Since all desired traits usually do not appear with just one cross, breeding must be cumulative.  
           [0008]    Present breeding techniques continue with the controlled pollination of parental clones. Typically, pollen is collected in gelatin capsules for later use in pollinating the female parents. Hybrid seeds are sown in greenhouses, and tubers are harvested and retained from thousands of individual seedlings. The next year a single tuber from each resulting seedling is planted in the field, where extreme caution is exercised to avoid the spread of virus and diseases. From this first-year seedling crop, several “seed” tubers from each hybrid individual which survived the selection process are retained for the next year&#39;s planting. After the second year, samples are taken for density measurements and fry tests to determine the suitability of the tubers for commercial usage. Plants which have survived the selection process to this point are then planted at an expanded volume the third year for a more comprehensive series of fry tests and density determinations. At the fourth-year stage of development, surviving selections are subjected to field trials in several states to determine their adaptability to different growing conditions. Eventually, the varieties having superior qualities are transferred to other farms and the seed increased to commercial scale. Generally, by this time, eight or more years of planting, harvesting and testing have been invested in attempting to develop the new and improved potato cultivars.  
           [0009]    Long-term, controlled-environment storage has been a feature of the northern, principal producing areas for many years. Potatoes harvested by October must be kept in good condition for up to eight months in temperatures that may drop to −30 degrees C. at times and with very low relative humidity in the outside air. Storages are well insulated, not only to prevent heat loss but also to prevent condensation on outside walls. The circulation of air at the required temperature and humidity is automatically controlled depending on the purpose for which the potatoes are being stored. Sprout inhibition is now largely carried out in storage as it has been found to be more satisfactory than the application of maleic hydrazide (MH30) in the field.  
           [0010]    Proper testing of new plants should detect any major faults and establish the level of superiority or improvement over current varieties. In addition to showing superior performance, a new variety must be compatible with industry standards or create a new market. The introduction of a new variety will increase costs of the tuber propagator, the grower, processor and consumer; for special advertising and marketing, altered tuber propagation and new product utilization. The testing preceding release of a new variety should take into consideration research and development costs as well as technical superiority of the final variety. Once the varieties that give the best performance have been identified, the tuber can be propagated indefinitely as long as the homogeneity of the variety parent is maintained.  
           [0011]    For tuber propagated varieties, it must be feasible to produce, store and process potatoes easily and economically.  
           [0012]    Thus, there is a continuing need to develop potato cultivars which provide good processability out of storage, with minimal bruising, for manufacturers of potato chips and other potato products and to combine this characteristic with the properties of disease resistance, resistance to pests. The present invention addresses this need by providing the new variety as described herein.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    According to the invention, there is provided a novel potato cultivar of the genus and species,  Solanum tuberosum , designated FL2006. This invention thus relates to the tubers of potato variety FL2006, the plants and plant parts of potato variety FL2006 and to methods for producing a potato plant produced by crossing the potato variety FL2006 with itself or another potato variety. This invention further relates to hybrid potato seeds and plants produced by crossing the potato variety FL2006 with another potato plant.  
           [0014]    In another aspect, the present invention provides for Single Gene Converted plants of FL2006. The single gene transferred may be a dominant or recessive allele. Preferably, the single gene transferred will confer such traits as herbicide resistance, insect resistance, resistance for bacterial, fungal or viral disease, uniformity and increase in concentration of starch and other carbohydrates, decrease in tendency of tuber to bruise and decrease in the rate of conversion of starch to sugars. The single gene transferred may be a naturally occurring gene or a transgene introduced through genetic engineering techniques. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]    A novel potato cultivar of the present invention, which has been designated FL2006, has been obtained by selectively crossbreeding parental clones through several generations. These parents were selected as breeding parents because of their high yields, excellent chip quality out of cold storage and the potential for transmitting scab resistance.  
         [0016]    FL2006 cultivar is a chipping variety for fresh use. In long growing season areas it consistently had higher solids and yields than Snowden. It also fries well out of extended storage.  
         [0017]    Tubers of FL2006 have a uniform, oval shape, smooth eyes and slightly netted/smooth skin. Chips are very bright and attractive color, both fresh off the field and out of long term 52° F. storage. FL2006 is moderately resistant to blackspot bruise.  
         [0018]    FL2006 has been uniform and stable since its origin as a single plant in 1995. No variants of FL2006 have been observed.  
         [0019]    As a chipping variety for fresh use, and for up to 7 months use out of storage at 52°, FL2006 is most similar to Snowden. FL2006 can be distinguished from Snowden with regard to the following traits: FL2006 tubers have yellow flesh versus white for Snowden. FL2006 has a considerable amount of anthocyanin in the stem and leaf petioles while Snowden has none. FL2006 has blue pigment in the eyes of the tubers and Snowden does not. FL2006 has more 20° and 30° leaflet pairs than Snowden does. FL2006 also has tubers that tend to be longer and narrower than the tubers of Snowden, which are round blocky and frequently compressed. The predominant flower color in FL2006 is blue-violet where as Snowden has white flowers. FL2006 flowers abundantly as compared to Snowden.  
         [0020]    In addition to the morphological characteristics and disease and pest resistance as described above, the plants of this invention are characterized by their protein “fingerprint” patterns. The protein “fingerprint” is determined by separating tuber proteins on an electrophoretic gel under certain defined conditions. The pattern of the proteins, attributable to their differential mobilities on the electrophoretic gel, have been found to be characteristic of the particular plant involved. This pattern has thus been termed a “fingerprint.” Isozyme fingerprints of all available North American potato varieties have revealed that no two varieties have the same pattern for the enzymes tested. (Douches and Ludlam, 1991). The isozyme fingerprint of FL2006 has been established as distinct from that of any other variety tested, including Atlantic (Douches and Ludlam, 1991). These techniques generally involve extracting proteins from the tuber and separating them electrophoretically.  
         [0021]    Potato variety FL2006 has the following morphologic and other characteristics.  
                                                                                                                                         VARIETY DESCRIPTION INFORMATION                                Classification:     Solanum Tuberosum  L.            Plant characteristics:       (Observed at beginning of bloom)            Growth habit:   Semi-erect (30°-45° with ground)       Type:   Intermediate       Maturity   130       (Days after planting—DAP):            Stem Characteristics:       (Observed at early first bloom)            Stem (anthocyanin coloration):   Strong       Stem (wings):   Strong            Leaf Characteristics:       (Observed fully developed leaves located in the middle one-third of plant):            Leaf (color):   Dark green-RHS 147A       Leaf (silhouette):   Medium       Petioles (anthocyanin coloration):   Strong       Terminal leaflet (shape):   Medium ovate       Terminal leaflet (shape of tip):   Acuminate       Terminal leaflet (shape of base):   Cordate       Terminal leaflet (margin waviness):   Weak       Primary leaflets (average pairs):    4       Primary leaflets (shape):   Acuminate       Primary leaflets (shape of base):   Cordate       Number of leaflets    7.2       (secondary and tertiary):            Inflorescence Characteristics:            Number of inflorescence/plant:    4.8       Number of florets/inflorescence:    16       Corolla (shape):   Pentagonal       Corolla (inner surface color):   Violet/blue 96B RHS       Calyx (anthocyanin coloration):   Strong       Anthers (shape):   Narrow cone       Stigma (shape):   Capitate       Stigma (color):   Green/146A RHS            Tuber Characteristics:            Skin (predominant color):   Buff 199C RHS       Skin (texture):   Rough       Tuber (shape):   Oval       Tuber (thickness)   Slightly flattened       Tuber length (mm):    78.68       Tuber width (mm):    61.44       Tuber eyes (depth):   Shallow/intermediate       Tuber (primary flesh color):   Greyed yellow 162C RHS       Tuber (prominence of eyebrows):   Slight prominence       Tuber (number per plant):   Medium (8-15)            Reaction to Pests:            Golden nematode  Globodera     Susceptible         rostochiensis                    
 
         [0022]    [0022]                                                                                                                               FL2006   Atlantic            Trial (mid season harvest)   Yield   Solids   Color   App   Yield   Solids   Color   App                    1998 Wisconsin Trial   533   16.6   65.0   1   483   16.6   64.0   2       1999 Nebraska Trial   456   17.3   65.0   1   393   18.1   63.0   1       1999 Florida Trial   411   16.0   64.0   1   433   16.2   65.0   2       1999 Maine Trial   264   19.1   67.0   1   308   19.5   67.0   1       1999 Michigan Trial   510   18.9   62.0   2   482   18.7   63.0   2       1999 Quebec Trial   190   19.4   67.0   1   230   19.5   67.0   2       1999 Texas Trial   252   17.7   65.0   1   280   17.8   66.0   2       2000 Nebraska Trial   553   16.6   62.0   2   516   17.1   60.0   2       2000 Florida Trial   258   16.9   65.0   2   344   16.7   67.0   1       2000 Idaho Trial   392   17.3   66.0   2   370   18.1   67.0   3       2000 Maine Trial   292   17.7   63.0   2   260   17.5   62.0   3       2000 Missouri Trial   250   17.1   66.0   1   237   18.0   65.0   2       2000 Wisconsin Trial   149   19.0   69.0   1   184   19.3   69.0   1       2000 Texas Trial   239   15.7   64.0   2   267   17.3   63.0   1                                    
         [0023]    Persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that when the term potato plant is used in the context of the present invention, this also includes derivative varieties that retain the essential distinguishing characteristics of FL2006, such as a Single Gene Converted plant of that variety or a transgenic derivative having one or more value-added genes incorporated therein (such as herbicide or pest resistance. Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improve or introduce a characteristic into the variety. The term backcrossing as used herein refers to the repeated crossing of a hybrid progeny back to the recurrent parents. The parental potato plant which contributes the gene for the desired characteristic is termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers to the fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcross protocol and therefore does not recur. The parental potato plant to which the gene or genes from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in the backcrossing protocol. In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest (recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent) that carries the single gene of interest to be transferred. The resulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to the recurrent parent and the process is repeated until a potato plant is obtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the converted plant, in addition to the single gene transferred from the nonrecurrent parent.  
         [0024]    The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for a successful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol is to alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the original variety. To accomplish this, a single gene of the recurrent variety is modified, substituted or supplemented with the desired gene from the nonrecurrent parent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desired genes, and therefore the desired physiological and morphological constitution of the original variety. The choice of the particular nonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross. One of the major purposes is to add some commercially desirable, agronomically important trait to the plant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristic or trait being altered or added to determine an appropriate testing protocol. Although backcrossing methods are simplified when the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, a recessive allele may also be transferred. In this instance, it may be necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desired characteristic has been successfully transferred.  
         [0025]    Likewise, transgenes can be introduced into the plant using any of a variety of established recombinant methods well-known to persons skilled in the art, such as: Gressel, 1985, Biotechnologically Conferring Herbicide Resistance in Crops: The Present Realities, In Molecular Form and Function of the plant Genome, L van Vloten-Doting, (ed.), Plenum Press, New York; Huttner, S. L., et al., 1992, Revising Oversight of Genetically Modified Plants.  Bio/Technology ; Klee, H., et al., 1989, Plant Gene Vectors and Genetic Transformation: Plant Transformation Systems Based on the use of  Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics of Plants ; Koncz, C., et al.,1986, The Promoter of T L -DNA Gene 5 Controls the Tissue-Specific Expression of Chimeric Genes Carried by a Novel Type of Agrobacterium Binary Vector;  Molecular and General Genetics ; Lawson, C., et al., 1990, Engineering Resistance to Mixed Virus Infection in a Commercial Potato Cultivar: Resistance to Potato Viruses X and Potato Virus Y in Transgenic Russet Burbank,  Bio/Technology ; Mitsky, T. A., et al., 1996, Plants Resistant to Infection by PLRV. U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,253; Newell, C. A., et al.,1991, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of  Solanum tuberosum  L. Cv. Russet Burbank,  Plant Cell Reports ; Perlak, F. J., et al., 1993, Genetically Improved Potatoes: Protection from Damage by Colorado Potato Beetles,  Plant Molecular Biology ; all of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0026]    Many single gene traits have been identified that are not regularly selected for in the development of a new variety but that can be improved by backcrossing and genetic engineering techniques. Single gene traits may or may not be transgenic, examples of these traits include but are not limited to: herbicide resistance; resistance to bacterial, fungal or viral disease; insect resistance; uniformity or increase in concentration of starch and other carbohydrates; enhanced nutritional quality; decrease in tendency of tuber to bruise; and decrease in the rate of starch conversion to sugars. These genes are generally inherited through the nucleus. Several of these single gene traits are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365, 5,387,756, 5,789,657, 5,503,999, 5,589,612, 5,510,253, 5,304,730, 5,382,429, 5,503,999, 5,648,249, 5,312,912, 5,498,533, 5,276,268, 4,900,676, 5,633,434 and 4,970,168, the disclosures of which are specifically hereby incorporated by reference.  
       DEPOSIT INFORMATION  
       [0027]    A deposit of the potato variety, FL2006, propagating material is maintained by Frito-Lay, Inc., at the Research Facility in Rhinelander, Wis. Access to this deposit will be available during the pendency of this application to persons determined by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks to be entitled thereto under 37 CFR 1.14 and 35 USC 122. Upon allowance of any claims in this application, all restrictions on the availability to the public of the variety will be irrevocably removed by affording access to a deposit of at least 25 vials of germplasm of the same variety with the American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va., or another acceptable depository.  
         [0028]    Hereinabove has been set out a new variety of potato,  Solanum tuberosum , designated as FL2006, including its physical characteristics and qualities by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding. It will be obvious that variations are possible within the scope of this invention, as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.