Solynta

Last updated
Solynta
Company typePrivate
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2006
FounderHein Kruyt, Pim Lindhout, Theo Schotte, and Johan Trouw
Headquarters,
Website www.solynta.com

Solynta is a Dutch biotechnology company that specializes in hybrid potato breeding. It is headquartered in Wageningen, Gelderland, the Netherlands.

Contents

Overview

Solynta was founded by Hein Kruyt, [1] Pim Lindhout, Theo Schotte and Johan Trouw [2] in 2006. [3] Solynta has been focusing on developing potato hybrids through breeding.

Technology

Hybrid breeding allows a breeder to combine in an easy way favorable traits from one parental line A with other desired traits from parental line B in its F1 offspring. This requires potato plants which are self-compatible and diploid, that can be used to generate the parental lines. To this end, Solynta crossed in 2008 a diploid potato with Solanum chacoense to start hybrid breeding. [4]

The first step is to develop parental lines that are homozygous. Although potato is very heterozygous, [4] it is possible to generate homozygous potato lines. [5] [6] [7]

Self-compatible diploid potato was found by Hosaka and Hanneman in the Solanum chacoense used by Solynta. [8] The first results of the breeding efforts were published in 2011 by Lindhout et al., [5] a few years later this potential of hybrid breeding in potato was acknowledged by the US scientific community. [9] Further tails of the breeding process, including the original donors have been described in Lindhout et al., 2018. [10] The mechanisms of self-compatibility in potato have recently been unraveled simultaneously by Eggers et al. [11] and Ma et al., identifying the Sli-gene. [12]

Meijer et al. (2018) [13] and Prinzenberg et al. (2018) [14] showed that using the potato breeding material of Solynta, fast and targeted progress on breeding for specific traits could be achieved. In 2017, Solynta showed in a program called HiSPoB [15] that it was able to introduce a double stack phytophthora resistance in their hybrid material, which was publicly demonstrated (Su et al. 2020). [16] With this demonstration the principle of marker-assisted breeding, known and applied in other major crops, was demonstrated for the first time for potato. Solynta's potato breeding techniques include F1 hybrid potato breeding. [17] [5]

Research collaborations

Solynta has participated in a number of scientific collaborations and networks, in order to gain experience with the technology and to allow public researchers to work with genetic material made available by Solynta.

For public research purposes, the diploid self-compatible line "Solyntus" was released to the scientific community in collaboration with Wageningen UR – Plant Breeding. [23] Genetic material from Solynta was used by groups in the UK [24] and Sweden [25] to perform research on fundamental aspects of potato biology. The collaborations have led to an acknowledgment by the public scientific community for the openness and transparency of Solynta. [26]

The Sli gene was recently cloned by Wageningen University and Solynta in 2021, which will allow for faster and more focused breeding. [27] [28] It primarily focuses on Hybrid True Potato Seeds (HTPS) that are not genetically modified. [29] [1] Using potato seeds, 25 grams of seeds can be utilized in place of 2500 kg of tubers as used in traditional potato planting. [30] This method of potato breeding received a U.S. patent in 2020. [31]

Solynta has worked on developing on a late blight-resistant potato variety [32] using cross-breeding. [33] Scientists at the company have also worked on published genome sequences of potatoes. [34]

Impact and further research

Two patents have been granted on hybrid breeding technology, one in the US in 2020. [35] Solynta signed a collaboration with the largest potato starch processor, AVEBE in 2021. Their joint goal is to develop hybrid potato varieties with added value for processing starch and other ingredients, while maintaining a sustainable crop production. [36]

First variety registrations were obtained in Zimbabwe (2021) and Kenya (2023). A collaboration agreement with seed-treatment specialist Incotec was signed in 2022.

The case of hybrid potato breeding has led to a number of studies, initiated by Rathenau Institute (Beumer & Edelenbosch, 2019; Edelenbosch & Munnichs, 2020). [37] [38]

Solynta's model of using and regulating ownership of newly developed technologies is discussed in Beumer et al.'s framework of Commons. [39] The framework states there is a diversity of genetic material available and accessible and supports a scientific basis for further development of the potato value chain. [40]

Potato hybrid breeding trials have been carried out in the DR Congo (in Ituri Province), [41] Rwanda, [42] and Mozambique (in Angónia District, Tete Province). [43] An early hybrid potato growing trial using diploid hybrids in East Africa showed promising yield and disease resistance. [44]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ploidy</span> Number of sets of chromosomes of a cell

Ploidy is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively, in each homologous chromosome pair, which chromosomes naturally exist as. Somatic cells, tissues, and individual organisms can be described according to the number of sets of chromosomes present : monoploid, diploid, triploid, tetraploid, pentaploid, hexaploid, heptaploid or septaploid, etc. The generic term polyploid is often used to describe cells with three or more sets of chromosomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potato</span> Staple food, root tuber, starchy

The potato is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheat</span> Genus of grass cultivated for grain

Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a staple food around the world. The many species of wheat together make up the genus Triticum ; the most widely grown is common wheat. The archaeological record suggests that wheat was first cultivated in the regions of the Fertile Crescent around 9600 BC. Botanically, the wheat kernel is a caryopsis, a type of fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hybrid (biology)</span> Offspring of cross-species reproduction

In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents such as in blending inheritance, but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polyploidy</span> Condition where cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of chromosomes

Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of (homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each of two parents; each set contains the same number of chromosomes, and the chromosomes are joined in pairs of homologous chromosomes. However, some organisms are polyploid. Polyploidy is especially common in plants. Most eukaryotes have diploid somatic cells, but produce haploid gametes by meiosis. A monoploid has only one set of chromosomes, and the term is usually only applied to cells or organisms that are normally diploid. Males of bees and other Hymenoptera, for example, are monoploid. Unlike animals, plants and multicellular algae have life cycles with two alternating multicellular generations. The gametophyte generation is haploid, and produces gametes by mitosis; the sporophyte generation is diploid and produces spores by meiosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triticale</span> Hybrid wheat/rye crop

Triticale is a hybrid of wheat (Triticum) and rye (Secale) first bred in laboratories during the late 19th century in Scotland and Germany. Commercially available triticale is almost always a second-generation hybrid, i.e., a cross between two kinds of primary (first-cross) triticales. As a rule, triticale combines the yield potential and grain quality of wheat with the disease and environmental tolerance of rye. Only recently has it been developed into a commercially viable crop. Depending on the cultivar, triticale can more or less resemble either of its parents. It is grown mostly for forage or fodder, although some triticale-based foods can be purchased at health food stores and can be found in some breakfast cereals.

<i>Phytophthora infestans</i> Species of single-celled organism

Phytophthora infestans is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by Alternaria solani, is also often called "potato blight". Late blight was a major culprit in the 1840s European, the 1845–1852 Irish, and the 1846 Highland potato famines. The organism can also infect some other members of the Solanaceae. The pathogen is favored by moist, cool environments: sporulation is optimal at 12–18 °C (54–64 °F) in water-saturated or nearly saturated environments, and zoospore production is favored at temperatures below 15 °C (59 °F). Lesion growth rates are typically optimal at a slightly warmer temperature range of 20 to 24 °C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triangle of U</span> Evolutionary history of Brassica genus

The triangle of U is a theory about the evolution and relationships among the six most commonly known members of the plant genus Brassica. The theory states that the genomes of three ancestral diploid species of Brassica combined to create three common tetraploid vegetables and oilseed crop species. It has since been confirmed by studies of DNA and proteins.

<i>Synchytrium endobioticum</i> Species of fungus

Synchytrium endobioticum is a chytrid fungus that causes the potato wart disease, or black scab. It also infects some other plants of the genus Solanum, though potato is the only cultivated host.

<i>Solanum pimpinellifolium</i> Ancestral Species of tomato

Solanum pimpinellifolium, commonly known as the currant tomato or pimp, is a wild species of tomato native to Ecuador and Peru but naturalized elsewhere, such as the Galápagos Islands. Its small fruits are edible, and it is commonly grown in gardens as an heirloom tomato, although it is considered to be wild rather than domesticated as is the commonly cultivated tomato species Solanum lycopersicum. Its genome was sequenced in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crop wild relative</span> Wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant

A crop wild relative (CWR) is a wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant. It may be a wild ancestor of the domesticated (cultivated) plant or another closely related taxon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somatic fusion</span> Genetic modification fusing plants into a hybrid

Somatic fusion, also called protoplast fusion, is a type of genetic modification in plants by which two distinct species of plants are fused together to form a new hybrid plant with the characteristics of both, a somatic hybrid. Hybrids have been produced either between different varieties of the same species or between two different species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cisgenesis</span>

Cisgenesis is a product designation for a category of genetically engineered plants. A variety of classification schemes have been proposed that order genetically modified organisms based on the nature of introduced genotypical changes, rather than the process of genetic engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant breeding</span> Humans changing traits, ornamental/crops

Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varieties that boast unique and superior traits for a variety of applications. The most frequently addressed agricultural traits are those related to biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, grain or biomass yield, end-use quality characteristics such as taste or the concentrations of specific biological molecules and ease of processing.

Amanda M. Hulse-Kemp is a computational biologist with the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service. She works in the Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Unit and is stationed on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Solanum acaule is a species of wild potato in the family Solanaceae, native to Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile, and northwestern Argentina. It is being extensively studied for its resistance to Phytophthora infestans, Potato leafroll virus, Potato virus X, Potato virus Y, potato cyst nematodes, and frost, in an effort to improve the domestic potato Solanum tuberosum.

<i>Solanum commersonii</i> Species of plant in the genus Solanum

Solanum commersonii is a species of wild potato in the family Solanaceae. It is native to southern Brazil, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina, and has been introduced to Mauritius. It is a crop wild relative useful in potato breeding for its resistance to root knot nematode, soft rot, blackleg, bacterial wilt, verticillium wilt, Potato virus X, tobacco etch virus, common scab, and late blight, and for its frost tolerance and ability to cold acclimate.

Paul Christiaan Struik is a Dutch agronomist, academic and author. He is an Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Adjunct Faculty staff member of the University of Bangalore, as well as an emeritus Professor in Crop Physiology at Wageningen University.

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