News on GM Potatoes

Wageningen University & Research starts new field trials with genetically modified potatoes. The potatoes tested in these field trials have been genetically modified by adding or switching off multiple genes.

New trials in Europe will evaluate genetically modified potatoes with enhanced resistance to diseases such as late blight, aiming to reduce pesticide use and provide evidence for the regulatory debate on new genomic techniques.

En Estados Unidos, la FDA avaló la papa Russet Burbank II de J. R. Simplot, una variedad GMO desarrollada con resistencia natural al *Phytophthora infestans*, al considerarla tan segura como las convencionales y capaz de reducir pesticidas y mejorar el almacenamiento.

Scientists decoded a haplotype-resolved potato genome and GWAS of 141 accessions, identifying StTST2, a tonoplast sugar transporter. StTST2 boosts photosynthesis, sugar accumulation, source–sink transport, and tuber yield via interaction with SUT2.

SolEdits and Lyckeby have developed CRISPR-edited potatoes with storage-stable starch, removing the need for chemical modification. Once allowed in the EU, this innovation can save 5,000 tonnes of chemicals yearly in Sweden and up to 75,000 across the EU.

Project Oppotunity completed the first CRISPR-Cas field trials of starch potatoes bred for late blight resistance, with test plots in Sweden and Denmark. Early results indicate stronger disease resistance and a very promising path to resilient crops.

PoLoPo, a B2B deeptech firm, is shifting focus to the snack industry. It's patented potato offers up to three more protein than regular tubers, enabling high-protein chips with great taste and texture for brands and food manufacturers.

PoLoPo, a molecular farming pioneer has announced it has increased its capacity to produce samples for food industry partners with new, larger-scale lab equipment following its first successful outdoor field cultivation of protein-packed potatoes.

The Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resource Development Board (RAB) is conducting trials on new potato varieties that require no fungicide spraying

Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in space and other extreme environments.

PoLoPo, a molecular farming pioneer, has announced it has moved beyond greenhouse scale and begun planting its genetically modified potatoes in fields, the first wide cultivation of plants derived from PoLoPo’s proprietary metabolic engineering techniques.

En el marco de una alianza interinstitucional público-privada, el Banco de Desarrollo Productivo (BDP) promueve el mejoramiento de las condiciones productivas y el incremento de rendimientos de papa en el altiplano paceño

A team from the University of Illinois has engineered potato to be more resilient to global warming, showing 30% increases in tuber mass under heatwave conditions.

Solynta's potato varieties with high resistances against Late Blight provide Kenyan farmers with good yields, as demonstrated in a comparative field test during an extensive spray/no spray trial in Limuru, Kenya.

PoLoPo, a molecular farming pioneer has announced it will begin supplying patatin, the native protein in potatoes, to commercial clients following regulatory approval.

The Genetically Modified (GM) Potato Project ongoing in Nigeria has concluded its first-year multi-locational confined trial in three locations

Scientists have assembled the genome sequences of nearly 300 varieties of potatoes and its wild relatives to develop more nutritious, disease-free, and weather-proof crop.

Potato is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption. But potato world production is threatened by potato late blight