Acceleration of potato tuber sprouting by the expression of a bacterial pyrophosphatase.

Potato is a globally important crop. Unfortunately, potato farming is plagued with problems associated with the sprouting behavior of seed tubers. The data presented here demonstrate that using transgenic technology can influence this behavior. Transgenic tubers cytosolically expressing an inorganic pyrophosphatase gene derived from Escherichia coli under the control of the tuber-specific patatin promoter display significantly accelerated sprouting. The period of presprouting dormancy for transgenic tubers planted immediately after harvest is reduced by six to seven weeks when compared to wild-type tubers. This study demonstrates a method with which to regulate dormancy, an important aspect of potato crop management.