Genomic Outcomes of Haploid Induction Crosses in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

In this collaboration with the International Potato Center (CIP), we investigated potato lines with an unusual property: when used to cross-pollinate another potato, their chromosomes sometimes disappear from the ensuing progeny, resulting in haploid plants. More than just a genetic oddity, this phenomenon can speed up crop improvement by several years. To better understand how this chromosome disappearing act works, we used whole-genome sequencing to ask whether the genomes of over 150 potato haploids raised at CIP over a decade ago contained residual pieces of pollinator chromosomes.