Taxonomy and Genetic Differentiation among Wild and Cultivated Germplasm of Solanum sect. Petota

Because of their adaptation to a diverse set of habitats and stresses, wild species of cultivated crops offer new sources of genetic diversity for germplasm improvement. Using an Infinium array representing a genome-wide set of 8303 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), phylogenetic relationships and allelic diversity were evaluated within a diversity panel of germplasm from sect. . This panel consists of 74 plant introductions (PIs) representing 25 species and provides a diverse representation of tuber-bearing germplasm. Unlike other molecular markers, genome-wide SNPs have not been widely implemented in potato. To determine relatedness between current species classifications and SNP-based genetic distances, a phylogeny was generated based on random individuals from each core collection PI. With few exceptions, SNP-based estimates of species relationships revealed general agreement with the existing taxonomic grouping of species in sect. . Genotype comparisons between the sect. diversity panel and a panel of 213 tetraploid cultivars and breeding lines indicated a greater extent of diversity between populations of native Andean landraces than among modern cultivated varieties. Comparison of SNP allele frequencies between the sect. panel and tetraploid cultivars identified loci with extreme divergence between cultivated potato and its tuber-bearing relatives. Several of these loci are associated with genes related to carbohydrate metabolism and tuber development, suggesting potential roles in potato domestication. The Infinium SNP data offer a new taxonomic view of potato germplasm, while further identifying candidate alleles likely to differentiate wild germplasm and cultivated potato, possibly underlying key agronomic traits.