The Incidence and Effect on Total Tuber Carotenoids of a Recessive Zeaxanthin Epoxidase Allele (Zep1) in Yellow-fleshed Potatoes

Abstract

Zeaxanthin epoxidase (Zep) is one of at least two genes important for the incidence and amount of carotenoids in yellow-fleshed potato. The recessive allele of the gene encoding zeaxanthin epoxidase (Zep1) has previously been shown to inhibit the conversion of the xanthophyll zeaxanthin to other, more polar carotenoids. We examined the effect of the dosage of Zep1 on total carotenoids in yellow-fleshed tetraploid potato germplasm. The dosage of heterozygous individuals was determined using high-resolution DNA melting. We also surveyed a wide range of germplasm available in the USDA-ARS potato breeding program in Washington for the presence and dosage of Zep1. Genotypes with zero, one, or two copies of Zep1 had statistically similar levels of total tuber carotenoids. Triplex individuals showed a small but significant increase in total carotenoids over the previous three classes. In turn, individuals that were homozygous for Zep1 had much higher levels of total carotenoids than all other dosage classes. This suggests that a slight dosage effect is present, but that the effect of Zep1 is indeed largely recessive. A significant amount of variation in total carotenoids was observed within all Zep1 dosage classes, reinforcing the evidence that additional loci are important for high total carotenoids in potato. Our survey of breeding germplasm supported earlier research that Zep1 is uncommon in tetraploid potato germplasm. The use of high-resolution DNA melting again allowed us to identify the dosage of Zep1 in heterozygous individuals. This is important for breeding high-carotenoid potatoes at the tetraploid level, since recovery of homozygous Zep1 individuals is very rare. Identification of agronomically desirable parents with two or more copies of Zep1 would allow for higher recovery of homozygous Zep1 progeny, permitting additional selection for other desirable traits.