The potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida overcomes major potato resistance through selection on standing variation at a single locus.

ABSTRACT: Globodera pallida poses a major threat to potato production, with management strategies primarily relying on genetic resistance. However, increasing virulence in field populations across Western Europe raises major concerns for G. pallida control. To investigate the evolutionary mechanisms driving this rise in virulence, we propagated 13 field populations on 30 commercial potato varieties. Our findings indicate that the genetic basis of resistance in potatoes is small, with the major resistance conferred by GpaV from Solanum vernei. The wide application of GpaV_vrn has led to continuous selection on standing genetic variation in G. pallida. To map virulence, we propagated two field populations on a GpaV_vrn-resistant variety for five generations. High-coverage whole-gen

SUBMITTER: Schaveling AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12917471 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature