Genetic characterisation of tetraploid potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) emphasising genetic control of total glycoalkaloid content in the tubers

Two segregating resource populations were constructed, one of 216 clones using the tetraploid clones Cara and LT7 as parents and one of 176 clones using the tetraploid clones NT8 and LT7 as parents. The populations were used, in replicates, to estimate genetic parameters for total glycoalkaloid (TGA) content in the tubers, and for other agronomic and morphological traits such as tuber weight, dormancy and plant height. In both populations, the parental clones differed markedly in TGA-content and the progeny population was normally distributed for this trait after logarithmic transformation. Broad sense heritability estimate of TGA-content was 0.54 in Cara x LT7 and 0.50 in NT8 x LT7 and the trait proved to be inherited in a non-dominant manner. The minimum number of genes contributing to TGA-content was estimated to be between 3 and 7. None of the other traits recorded in this study showed a statistically significant genetic association with TGA-content. This suggests that tuber TGA-content may be genetically modulated without any significant adverse effects on other agronomic traits. The genetic parameters estimated in this study indicate that these populations are suitable for DNA-marker analysis for TGA-content in tubers.