Q01013: Varietal identification of potatoes by DNA profiling
Thursday 28 August 2003
This research project aims to use DNA profiling to identify different varieties of fresh potatoes and collate the information in a database.
Study Duration: September 1998 to April 2002
Contractor: National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB)
Background
Potatoes are a staple part of the UK diet, both as a fresh product and in processed foods. There are a large number of potato varieties available commercially and different potatoes are sold at differing prices and offered for use for different specific purposes. Current legislation requires potatoes to be sold labelled with their variety name. This creates a requirement to be able to distinguish between and identify potato varieties using an objective, simple and rapid analysis.
Research Approach
The main objective of this project was to use microsatellite based DNA profiling for the discrimination between and identification of fresh potatoes. A database of variety profiles would be produced, and tested against commercially purchased samples of potatoes.