PhD defence by Ida Westberg

Gene editing potato for new starch qualities

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the world's major crops used for both consumption and production of many types or starch derived products used in various manufacturing industries. The potential application of starch expands even further when altering the properties of the starch, which can be achieved by chemical or physical treatment. However, altering starch properties via these means is both time and energy-consuming. Meanwhile, with the recent developments in new breeding techniques and the expansion of CRISPR-Cas tools, manipulation of plant starch properties is now obtainable in planta by genetic engineering of starch crops such as potato. Highamylose starch has become of particular interest as the linear starch polymer displays excellent qualities in the production of biodegradable plastic, which may be employed to mitigate the world's increasing problems with non-degradable plastic waste polluting our oceans and environment. Furthermore, high-amylose starch displays fibre and prebiotic properties when ingested, as the high content of resistant starch makes it resistant to digestion until it reaches the large intestine, thereby leading to a variety of health benefits compared to conventional starch. This thesis describes my two-fold contributions to the field of genetic engineering of potato: i) to optimise CRISPR-Cas mediated gene editing in potato
through establishing robust and efficient transformation and regeneration procedures and ii) through the use of CRISPR-Cas technology, to edit key genes in starch biosynthesis with the aim of generating highamylose designer potato starch.

Assessment Committee

Professor Stig Uggerhøj Andersen, Århus University. sua@mbg.au.dk
Associate Professor Per Hofvander, Dep. Of Plant Breeding, SLU, Sweden. Per.hofvander@slu.se.
Associate Professor Hussam Hassan Nour Eldin Auis, UCPH. huha@plen.ku.dk (Chair)

Supervisors

Professor Staffan Persson, PLEN, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Associate Professor Bent L. Petersen, PLEN, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Time & venue

Monday 24. March 2025 at 13:00
CPSC A2.11-01
Thorvaldsensvej 40
1871 Frederiksberg C

Everybody is welcome