Peculiar properties of tuber starch in a potato mutant lacking the α-glucan water dikinase 1 gene GWD1 created by targeted mutagenesis using the CRISPR/dMac3-Cas9 system

Mariko Ohnuma, Kosuke Ito, Karin Hamada, Ami Takeuchi, Kenji Asano, Takahiro Noda, Akira Watanabe, Akiko Hokura, Hiroshi Teramura, Fuminori Takahashi, Hiromi Mutsuro-Aoki, Koji Tamura, Hiroaki Shimada

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Glucose chains in starch are phosphorylated and contribute to structural stabilization. Phosphate groups contained in starch also play a role in retaining moisture. α-Glucan water dikinase 1 (GWD1) is involved in the phosphorylation of glucose chains in starch. In this study, we generated potato mutants of the GWD1 gene using the CRISPR/dMac3-Cas9 system. Observation of the phenotypes of the GWD1-deficient mutants revealed their physiological roles in tuber starch formation. The 4-allele mutants showed growth retardation and a delay in tuber formation. A significant decrease in phosphorus content was detected in the tuber starch of the gwd1 mutant. This mutant starch showed a higher amylose content than the wild-type starch, whereas its gelatinization temperature was slightly lower than that of the WT starch. The peak viscosity of the mutant starch was lower than that of the WT starch. These observations revealed that the starch of the gwd1 mutants had peculiar and unique properties compared to those of WT, sbe3 and gbss1 mutant starches. The amount of tissue-released water due to freeze–thawing treatment was determined on tubers of the gwd1 mutant and compared with those of WT and the other mutants. Significantly less water loss was found in the gwd1, sbe3 and gbss1 mutant tubers than in the WT tubers. Our results indicate that the GWD1 gene is not only important for potato growth, but also largely effective for the traits of tuber starch.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)219-227
Number of pages9
JournalPlant Biotechnology
Volume40
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • freeze and thawing
  • potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)
  • starch phosphorylation
  • syneresis
  • targeted mutagenesis

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