DISCOLORATION OF CHILLED SWEET POTATO [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] ROOTS: FACTORS RELATED TO CULTIVAR DIFFERENCES

High throughput deep sequencing reveals the important roles of microRNAs during sweetpotato storage at chilling temperature

Sweetpotato (Impomoea batatas L.) is a globally important economic food crop with a potential of becoming a bioenergy and pharmaceutical crop. Thus, studying the molecular mechanism of tuberous root development and storage is very important. However, not too much progress has been made in this field. In this study, we employed the next generation high-throughput deep sequencing technology to sequence all small RNAs and degradome of sweetpotato for systematically investigating sweetpotato response to chilling stress during storage. A total of 190 known microRNAs (miRNAs) and 191 novel miRNAs were identified, and 428 transcripts were targeted by 184 identified miRNAs. More importantly, we identified 26 miRNAs differentially expressed between chilling stress and control conditions. The expression of these miRNAs and their targets was also confirmed by qRT-PCR. Integrated analysis of small RNAs and degradome sequencing reveals that miRNA-mediated SA signaling, ABA-dependent, and ROS response pathways are involved in sweetpotato root response to chilling stress during storage.

Review on tropical root and tuber crops. II. Physiological disorders in freshly stored roots and tubers

Tropical root and tubers, including cassava, sweet potato, yams and aroids, have been reported to show an increase in respiratory activity after harvest and injury and subsequent storage in association with their deterioration. This leads to loss of water and carbohydrate. Cassava roots often show discoloration of the tissue with development of pigments in the xylem vessels (vascular streaking or primary/physiological deterioration). This has been established to be enzymatic in nature. Pruning the cassava stem, leaving about a 20- to 30-cm stub prior to harvest, could delay the onset of primary deterioration. Sweet potato roots and yam tubers show a peak respiratory activity immediately or 1 d after harvest. The respiratory rate, however, declines during the subsequent storage period. Yam tubers show a further increase in respiratory activity at the breakage of dormancy occurring at the time of sprouting. Dormancy in yam tubers has been studied in some detail. Different species of yams vary in their dormancy period, a major factor that accounts for the variation in their storage life. Little information is available on the dormancy of sweet potato and aroids. Tropical roots and tubers exhibit "chilling injury" when stored at temperatures below a critical level. The critical cold-storage temperatures range between 10 and 15 degrees C for different tropical root and tuber crops.