RE SEARCH Research in the potato world DNA RESEARCH OF OUR OWN POTATO: ‘THE VARIETY IS FRANCELINE’ The Naktuinbouw Laboratories’ forensic team, Dr Hedwich Teunissen (l) and Mr Menno Hoekstra, shows how they can very clearly identify potato tubers and plants. which Hoekstra and Teunissen show us. The bar codes of all the tested varieties can be easily compared in this way. The laboratory technician need not do this himself; the computer does it for him. It compares the bar codes with those of the DNA profiles that are already in the computer, but it does not need to compare every single bar. Comparing at nine places on the whole DNA string is sufficient to determine a variety. When the computer spots a DNA profile that is already in the database, it automatically displays the relevant name. If the computer can not find a comparable bar code, it means that the variety is not yet in the Naktuinbouw database. This may either mean that it is a new variety or that an existing variety is not yet available in the database. Forensic institute for plants in the process of formation In order to be able to expand the research in the world of plants with sufficient support and subsequently to continue it, Naktuinbouw has sought collaboration with the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The UvA has a great deal of technological know-how and equipment for forensic research and is in the vanguard where DNA research and technology development is concerned. Moreover, this university possesses a great deal of ready knowledge about plants, according to Teunissen. Naktuinbouw and UvA have therefore formulated a plan to establish a green forensic institute, to be called Green Forensics. The aim is to combine three research fields within this institute. The first is the Variety Tracer, in which Green Forensics will investigate matters such as the offspring of crops, and suspicion of infringement of breeders’ rights and patents. Number two is the Pathogen Tracer. This relates to DNA investigation upon an outbreak of disease. When plant material is infected, the next question is sometimes, Where exactly does the disease come from? Think of the EHEC outbreak of over a year ago, for example. By comparing DNA profiles of different focuses of infection, outbreaks can be connected and it may then be possible to trace the source of the infection. The third field of Green Forensics is the Origin Tracer. With the help of the latest technology, researchers will look for the areas of origin of plant material. It will then be possible to establish whether potatoes that have Holland as the country of origin on their label, are indeed grown in the Netherlands. ● Leo Hanse ‘We made the profile of the potato and they correspond with the profile of the Franceline variety in the database. As editors of Potato World, we have given the forensic team of Naktuinbouw, as a test case, a potato out of ‘our own kitchen’. A week after supplying the potato, Menno Hoekstra came back with the results of the potato: ‘We have made profiles of the potato and they correspond with the profiles of the Franceline variety in the database.’ This Franceline was picked from a 1 kg bag of Roseval purchased at the C1000 supermarket. These bags, which are on the supermarket shelves under the brand name Roseval, come from potato packager Landjuweel in Uithuizermeeden. In the kg bags of Roseval, Landjuweel not only puts varieties of the Roseval type, but also varieties that are very similar such as the Franceline. Bram Werkman, director of Landjuweel, says that this is permitted; however, under the new BRC standard at the bottom of the bag, close to the bar code, the variety name of the packaged variety must be mentioned. However, the bag purchased by our editor only mentions the name Roseval. ‘That is not okay, something went wrong here’, is Werkman’s response. Potato World 2012 • number 3 25 Pagina 24
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