Alelle diversity of tuberization regulator CDF1 in Andigena potatoes cultivated in Northwestern Argentina

REY, MARÍA FLORENCIA; MASSA, GABRIELA ALEJANDRA; MONTE, MARCELO NICOLÁS; CARBONI, MARTÍN FEDERICO; COLAVITA, MÓNICA; CASTELLOTE, MARTÍN ALFREDO; PRAT, SALOMÉ; FEINGOLD, SERGIO ENRIQUE

Fos de Iguazu

Congreso; 1th International Congress of Plant Molecular Biology IPMB2015; 2015

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the third food crop of global importance for human consumption. Rich in starch and nutrients, tubers are the environmentally regulated storage organs of potatoes. Molecular events triggering formation of these organs are not yet completely understood. Andigena varieties are more dependent of short days for tuberization than those that belong to Tuberosum group.Photoperiod dependence of tuberization is linked to a regulatory gene called stCDF1 (Cycling DOF Factor 1) and it has been postulated that natural allelic variability allowed the cultivation at latitudes distant from the tropics. CDF1 belongs to the family of DOF transcription factors (DNA-binding with one finger) and regulates tuber formation and life cycle length of the plant, acting as an intermediary molecule in the signalling pathway between the circadian clock (GIGANTEA), the blue light photoreceptors and the tuber mobile signal, StSP6A, also known as tuberigen.CDF1 allele variants have been evaluated on a collection of 109 Andigena genotypes from Northwestern Argentina, 4 commercial varieties and the reference sequenced genotype (DM). A single sequence repeat (SSR) present in an intronic region of the gene unveiled the presence of a minimum of three different alleles. A variable region at the 3 ́end of CDF1 transcript has also been analyzed and is currently being sequenced.This work provides the first characterization of CDF1 genes performed on Andigena potatoes native of Argentina and can contribute to the comprehension of the photoperiod dependence of tuberization and plant life cycle.