Plant & Animal Genomes XVI Conference

January 12-16, 2008
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Hormone Metabolism During Potato Tuber Dormancy

Jeffrey C. Suttle¹ , Luis Destefano-Beltran²

¹  USDA-ARS Northern Crop Science Laboratory 1307 18th St. N Fargo, North Dakota 58105 USA

²  Unversidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia Lima 31 Peru

At harvest and for an indeterminate period thereafter potato tubers will not sprout and are physiologically dormant. The length of tuber dormancy is dependent on cultivar and pre- and postharvest environmental conditions. Plant hormones have been shown to be involved in all phases of dormancy progression. In particular, ABA and cytokinin play pivotal roles in dormancy control. ABA is required for both initiation and maintenance of tuber dormancy and cytokinins are intimately involved in dormancy release. Recent studies have begun to elucidate the biochemical and molecular processes that regulate ABA and cytokinin turnover in potato tubers during dormancy progression. Genes encoding potential regulatory steps in ABA biosynthesis and metabolism and cytokinin inactivation have been cloned from Russet Burbank tuber tissues. The effects of dormancy status on hormone content, activity, and the expression of these genes will be discussed in relation to the regulation of dormancy progression.