PHYSIOLOGICAL GENETIC STUDIES ON IRRADIATED POTATO PLANTS BY THE USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Abstract

This study was carried out in the laboratories and green house of the National Center for Research and Radiation Technology, Atomic Energy Authority, and in the green house and laboratories of the Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Shobra EL Kheima, Cairo, Egypt during the period from 1994 to 2000. The study deals with the physiological genetic effect of gamma rays on potato plantlets, to examine the combined effect of irradiation and drought stress in vitro, and the biochemical and molecular markers associated with drought tolerance.

The main results could be summarized as follows: 1. The two different potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) Spunta and Saturna were chosen for the study according to Coumou and Maenhout (1991). The two cultivars were evaluated for drought stress in sand culture experiment, where Spunta showed tolerance and Saturna showed sensitivity to drought stress. 2. Gamma irradiation effects on tissue culture of potato plantlet traits showed significant differences among treatments and between the two potato cultivars for, color, viability and rooting while, p/antlets' vigor showed no significant differences. 3. Saturna cultivar plantlets gave better performance than Spunta for number of branches and number of nodes under gamma-irradiation effect, however the average of means for number of branches was less than the control, and the average number of nodes showed also significant differences. 4. Gamma irradiation affected the ability of plantlets to produce microtubers in Spunta plantlets that showed high success in producing microtubers.