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UK funding (£126,264): 16AGRITECHCAT5: Strategies to reduce waste due to greening in potato tubers Ukri1 Oct 2016 UK Research and Innovation, United Kingdom
Overview
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16AGRITECHCAT5: Strategies to reduce waste due to greening in potato tubers
| Abstract | In the UK, tuber greening is directly linked to 116,000 tonnes of household potato waste each year with an additional estimated loss of £60m to UK retailers. In field losses due to tuber greening also cost the industry £37 million per annum. Greening is a negative factor in consumer purchases where a 1% increase in sales is worth £3 million per annum to producers. To address this problem this project brings together two academic partners, University of Southampton and James Hutton Institute, who will work together with five industrial partners that span the food chain from production (Branston Ltd), through packaging (Amcor), to major retailers (Tesco and Waitrose). To enable this to happen efficiently the project will be managed by James Hutton Ltd. The project is an early stage proposal designed to elucidate the underpinning scientific knowledge required to develop both short and longer term solutions to this problem. Based on our understanding of the regulation of chlorophyll synthesis (responsible for greening) in model species, we will uncover the light signalling pathways regulating chlorophyll synthesis in potato tubers and identify the genes that are targets for these signals. The availability of the full potato genome sequence has made it possible to identify the candidate genes involved and expression of these genes will be tested in photobiological experiments using light sources that span the visible spectrum. The reason greening is such a problem is that light also induces the synthesis of glycoalkaloids that are deleterious to human health. We will therefore also characterise the regulation of this pathway. The information from these experiments will directly feed into the development of new, improved packaging materials that target the exclusion of the most effective light wavelengths. It will also provide information that can inform improved storage and in-store lighting regimes. New packaging materials will be tested empirically under laboratory conditions. In parallel, we will utilise a recently characterised potato mapping population to identify potato lines that show reduced greening. A detailed genetic map for this population and other genomic resources (such as whole-exome capture arrays in which all the expressed genes can be more rapidly analysed) will be deployed within the project. This unprejudiced approach will provide genetic markers for genes associated with reduced greening enabling a longer term strategy to produce new non-greening potato varieties. The markers identified will find application at different screening stages in breeding programmes carried out by consortium members. |
| Category | Research Grant |
| Reference | BB/P004903/1 |
| Status | Closed |
| Funded period start | 01/10/2016 |
| Funded period end | 31/03/2018 |
| Funded value | £126,264.00 |
| Source | https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FP004903%2F1 |
Participating Organisations
| University of Southampton | |
| James Hutton Institute |
The filing refers to a past date, and does not necessarily reflect the current state. The current state is available on the following page: University of Southampton, Southampton.
