Genomic origins of potato polyploids:: GBSSI gene sequencing data

Chromosome pairing relationships within cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum) and its wild tuber-bearing relatives (Solanum sect. Petota) hove been interpreted by genome formulas, developed in the early 1900s, through techniques of classic meiotic analysis of interspecific hybrids. Here we reexamine potato genome hypotheses with the first phylogenetic analysis of all major genomes of sect. Petota using cloned DNA sequences of the single-copy nuclear gene GBSSI (waxy). Our results provide the first molecular confirmation of allopolyploidy in wild potato. They both support prior hypotheses and identify novel genome origins never before proposed. The data will be useful to help design crossing strategies to incorporate wild species germplasm into cultivated potato.