Supplementary files from the PhD thesis "The cryptic inheritance of genetic resistance of potato against common scab"

To enable genome-based selection for CS resistance, I aim to identify genomic regions associated with resistance in different potato backgrounds, old and modern tetraploid and diploid varieties. To achieve this, I have performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in a range of potato varieties and breeding material: one on historical and US phenotypic data for scab resistance, another on two tetraploid bi-parental populations, and one on a dihaploid (diploid derived from a tetraploid) population.

Briefly, these have demonstrated that CS resistance is under the control of multiple small-effect regions in potato, making it likely that genomic selection is the most appropriate approach to improve selection. A rapid phenotypic test for CS resistance would contribute an increased capacity for selection in breeding and advance our understanding of the mechanism of resistance to scab. To facilitate these goals, I developed a rapid in-vitro method to screen for resistant plants and test differential interactions between potato varieties and scab-causing species.