Commercial scale fingerprinting of potato cultivars is made difficult by the need for speed, reliability and the ability to distinguish between large numbers of genotypes. In the present study the potentiality of ISSR-PCR for fingerprinting was evaluated using 11 multi loci ISSR markers on 47 commercial Indian potato cultivars. The complex band profiles generated were highly reproducible. A total of 68 distinct alleles were obtained with number varying from 3 (ISSR UBC079) to 9 (ISSR 827). The average fragments per (AM) marker and per genotype (AG) were 6.1 and 1.43 respectively with a total of 47 polymorphic fragments. Rp value varied from 4.17 (ISSR UBC079) to 12.26 (ISSRHB-10). The average RP was 7.60 per ISSR primer. The dendrogram analysis showed that Indian potato cultivars placed into three broad clusters which were in concordance with the Principle Component (PCO) analysis. Similarity coefficient varied from 0.82 to as high as 0.98 and PIC value of the markers ranged from 0.16 (ISSR UBC079) to 0.35 (ISSR 7). ISSR 827 and ISSR ACAa were able to distinguish maximum cultivars 21 and 10 respectively. But, no single primer was sufficient to distinguish all the cultivars. Furthermore, use of these markers in combination need to be checked for distinguishing all cultivars. The study revealed that ISSR-PCR technique seems to have potential for the large-scale and systematic fingerprinting of potato cultivars with added number of ISSR markers and high resolving techniques to unearth the diversity present in the Indian potato cultivars

J. Bamberg et al., 'Genetic diversity of wild potato of the USA', pp.120-121, 2016

Potato is an increasingly important crop in Ethiopia, but the origin of local cultivars grown throughout the country is unknown. To evaluate the genetic diversity of Ethiopian potato cultivars, and to assess their relationship with germplasm from North America, Europe and the International Potato Center (CIP), 8303 SNP markers were used to characterize 44 local Ethiopian cultivars, as well as 26 CIP, 22 American and 17 European potato cultivars and advanced breeding clones. The marker data revealed that most of the local cultivars were duplicates; among the 44 cultivars tested, only 15 unique genotypes were observed. Principal component and neighbor-joining dendrogram analyses showed that American, European and CIP germplasm form three distinct clusters, with older Ethiopian cultivars overlapping the European cultivars, suggesting that the oldest local cultivars are of European descent. Local cultivars overall separated into two distinct clusters, suggesting that at least two distinct introductions gave rise to current local cultivars in Ethiopia. Ethiopian germplasm harbors comparable levels of genetic diversity to American, European, and CIP germplasm and could provide the foundation for a national potato breeding program.

Sixty three potato clones (51 farmers? and 12 varieties) from Eritrea, 18 and 12 varieties from Kenya and Rwanda, respectively were characterized using 12 highly polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The study was designed to assess the genetic diversity and varietal distinctness among the different samples. In total, 91 alleles ranging between 2 (STM1053) to 13 (STM0031) alleles per marker were scored. All but 97.8 SSR markers were highly polymorphic with an average PIC value of 0.87 (0.51 to 0.98). All of the 51 farmers? cultivars were clearly distinct from each other. Samples from Eritrea showed the highest genetic diversity as explained by the diversity index (h). The principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed that the local farmers? Eritrean samples are different from the Kenyan, Rwandese and even the imported varieties. Genetic distance analysis generated three clusters correlating with the PCoA findings. Cluster I consisted of 45 samples with 6 sub-clusters; Cluster II consisted of 29 samples with a majority (26) from Eritrea while cluster III consisted of 19 samples. Potato materials from Eritrea appeared to cluster separately from the other samples, which reflects a contribution from the Tuberosum germplasm prominent in temperate regions, unlike from the Andigenum germplasm for Kenyan and Rwandan potato materials. Most of the Eritrean samples in cluster I are farmers? cultivars with intermediate maturity, good performance and better tuber quality characteristics. Cluster II contains mainly the imported variety from Eritrea characterized by late emergence and late maturity. The Kenyan and Rwandese were grouped mainly in Cluster III. In summary, the farmers? cultivars are distinct from the Kenyan and Rwandese materials and represent more genetic diversity than the varieties imported into Eritrea. This finding is of interest to national breeding program to use the farmer?s materials as source of genetic variation for traits of interest | Mesfin Ghebreslassie Biniam et al., 'Genetic diversity assessment of farmers and improved potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars from Eritrea using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers', African Journal of Biotechnology, vol. 15(35), pp.1883-1891, Academic Journals, 2016

The genetic diversity of potyviruses infecting potato and vegetables in Iraq was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) targeting the 3 ́ terminal part of the genome. RT-PCR products were cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis confirmed the occurrence of potyviruses, namely Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) in broad bean, Potato virus Y (PVY) in potato and tomato, and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) in zucchini squash. BYMV sequences showed maximum nucleotide sequence identity (97.2-98.7%) with isolates from Australia and Japan. Most PVY sequences were very closely related (ca. 99% nucleotide sequence identity) to PVYO: N isolates from USA and Canada, whereas other sequences showed nucleotide identities (98.5-98.7%) with PVYNTN isolates from Poland, UK and Syria. ZYMV sequences showed maximum nucleotide identity (97.9%) with an isolate from Israel. The low genetic diversity amongst Iraqi potyviruses, alongside their high sequence identities with potyviruses from other countries, suggests a relatively recent introduction to Iraq through imported planting materials.

Bioversity International, International Potato Center, 'Key access and utilization descriptors for sweet potato genetic resources', p.11, 2016 | This minimum list consists of an initial set of characterization and evaluation descriptors for sweet potato utilization. This strategic set of descriptors, together with passport data, will become the basis for the global accession level information portal being developed by Bioversity International with the financial support of the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT). It will facilitate access to and utilization of sweet potato accessions held in genebanks and does not preclude the addition of further descriptors, should data subsequently become available

Bioversity International, International Potato Center, 'Key access and utilization descriptors for cultivated potato genetic resources', p.7, 2016 | This list consists of an initial set of characterization and evaluation descriptors for cultivated potato utilization. This strategic set of descriptors, together with passport data, will become the basis for the global accession level information portal being developed by Bioversity International with the financial support of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. It will facilitate access to and utilization of cultivated potato accessions held in genebanks and does not preclude the addition of further descriptors, should data subsequently become available