Name of the project: IRN AP09260382 «Production of sweetpotato plants tolerant to abiotic stresses and determination methods for its effective cultivation».
Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) grown in over 100 countries around the world. Sweetpotato is considered as a food security crop and staple food in the rural economies of many countries.
Sweetpotato is a heat-loving plant, it takes about 90 warm days to form a tuber. The optimal temperature for growth and development is 24°C. For large-scale cultivation and cost-effective production, even in the southern regions of Kazakhstan, cold tolerant cultivars are required. Nowadays, this agricultural crop among the population in Kazakhstan is practically unknown and is not cultivated on an industrial scale, therefore it is very important to optimize agricultural technology for effective cultivation.
In Kazakhstan, sweetpotato have been studied for the last 5 years at the National Center for Biotechnology of the Republic of Kazakhstan and by the authors of the project (IPBB). Studies have shown that in the southeast of Kazakhstan, this crop gives a good harvest results, but in years with spring frosts, the harvest results is decreasing.
One of the most effective ways to increase plant tolerance simultaneously to several abiotic stress factors is the use of genetic engineering methods to increase the rate of proline biosynthesis and reduce the rate of its biodegradation in plant. Proline is the second osmolytic after carbohydrates in terms of prevalence and content in plant, and there is a positive correlation between the level of its content in plant tissues and their tolerance to abiotic stress factors.
To achieve the goal of the project, namely, obtaining cold-resistant sweetpotato lines, we intend to increase the collection of sweetpotato, select the best varieties in terms of yield and biochemical composition, on their basis, create cisgenic plants resistant to abiotic stresses by suppressing the proline dehydrogenase gene.
Project goal: To select the best sweetpotato cultivars in terms of yield and biochemical composition of tubers and, on their basis, create cisgenic plants resistant to abiotic stress by suppressing the proline dehydrogenase gene and develop scientifically based agrotechnics for the effective cultivation of sweetpotato in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan.
Expected results:
The collection of sweetpotato will be expanded (no less than 35 samples) for field trials and selection of the best varieties for genetic transformation
Genetic construction for suppressing the proline dehydrogenase gene
Scientifically grounded agrotechnology for growing sweetpotato in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. (Optimization of the timing and density of planting seedlings, covering the ridges with various films and mulch).
The selection of the best collection samples of sweet potatoes in terms of yield and biochemical composition (vitamins, sugar, starch) will be carried out based on the results of growing the first year of field trials
Sweetpotato plants will be obtained carrying a DNA region in the genome encoding dsRNA to the conserved region of the ProDH gene.
Sweet potato plants carrying a DNA region encoding dsRNA to the conserved region of the proline dehydrogenase (ProDH) gene for resistance to cold and drought will be studied
The main hypotheses of the project will be confirmed or refuted.
Project manager:
Sapakhova Zagipa Beisenovna, higher education (specialty Biology), PhD, scientific work experience of 17 years corresponds to the profile of the scientific project, h-index-3. https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=56046815800. Author ID in Scopus — 56046815800, Researcher ID Web of Science — M-6615-2015, ORCID ID — 0000-0002-8007-5066, Research Gate: Zagipa Sapakhova.
Member in the research group:
Zhapar Kuanysh Kabyluly: bachelor (specialty Biology), master (specialty Biology), doctoral student of KazNAU (specialty Plant Protection and Quarantine), scientific work experience of 7 years corresponds to the profile of the scientific project, h-index 1. Scopus Author ID – 57201671071. ORCID ID — 0000-0002-9007-9730. (https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57201671071; https://app.webofknowledge.com/author/record/13315794).
Zhigalov Andrey Viktorovich: higher education (specialty biology), candidate of biological sciences (specialty molecular biology), 15 years of scientific work experience corresponds to the profile of the scientific project, h-index 2. (https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?origin=resultslist&authorId=6508121286&zone=&featureToggles=FEATURE_AUTHOR_DETAILS_BOTOX:1&at_feature_toggle=1), (https://app.webofknowledge.com/author/record/4848976?lang=ru_RU&SID=E6Z3oWNmLijDjWIAkQB).
Shamekova Malika Khabidulayevna: higher education (specialty Zootechnic), Master’s degree (specialty Agroecology), PhD (specialty Ecology), currently Head of the Laboratory of Breeding and Biotechnology of the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, associate professor, 15 years of research experience corresponds to the profile of the scientific project, h-index 4, 1 PhD thesis was defended under her scientific supervision.