Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure in sweetpotato using SSR markers

Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas(L.) Lam., is an important food crop worldwide. Large scale evaluation of sweetpotato germplasm for genetic diversity is necessary to determine the genetic relationships between them and effectively use them in the genetic improvement. In this study, the genetic diversity of 617 sweetpotato accessions, including 376landraces and 162 bred varieties from China and 79 introduced varieties from 11 other countries, was assessed using 30 simple sequence repeat(SSR) primer pairs with high polymorphism. Based on the population structure analysis,these sweetpotato accessions were divided into three groups, Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3, which included 228, 136and 253 accessions, respectively. Consistent results were obtained by phylogenic analysis and principal coordinate analysis(PCoA). Of the three groups, Group 2 showed the highest level of genetic diversity and its accessions were mainly distributed in low-latitude regions. The accessions from South China exhibited the highest level of genetic diversity, which supports the hypothesis that Fujian and Guangdong were the first regions where sweetpotato was introduced to China. Analysis of molecular variance(AMOVA) indicated significant genetic differentiations between the different groups, but low levels of genetic differentiation existed between the different origins and accession types.These results provide valuable information for the better utilization of these accessions in sweetpotato breeding.

Construction of a high-density SSR genetic linkage map and identification of QTL for storage-root yield and dry-matter content in sweetpotato

Sweetpotato(Ipomoea batatas(L.)Lam.)is a widely grown food crop especially in developing countries.Increasing storage-root yield and dry-matter content has been the main breeding objective of the crop,and DNA marker-assisted breeding is needed for this purpose.In this study,using a mapping population of 500 F1 individuals from a cross between Xushu 18(female)and Xu 781(male),we constructed a highdensity genetic linkage map of sweetpotato using 601 simple-sequence repeat(SSR)primer pairs.The Xushu 18 map contained 90 linkage groups with 5547 SSR markers and spanned 18,263.5 cM,and the Xu 781 map contained 90 linkage groups with 4599 SSR markers and spanned 18,043.7 cM,representing the highest genome coverage yet reported for sweetpotato.We identified 33 QTL for storage-root yield and 16 QTL for dry-matter content,explaining respectively 6.5%–47.5%and 3.2%–18.9%of variation.These results provide a foundation for fine-mapping and cloning of QTL and for marker-assisted breeding in sweetpotato.

Evaluation of Four Varieties of Sweetpotato (Ipomeoa Batatas (L.) Lam) under Different Sources of Planting Material for Field Performance and Viral Load

Sweetpotato is an important crop for food security in many developing countries which is cultivated using vine cuttings. Studies have revealed that there are at least fifteen well characterized viruses known to infect sweetpotato of which 10 are economically important that contribute to yield reduction. Planting materials use by farmers are often infected by one or more of these viruses. The aim of this study was to evaluate three different sources of planting materials of different health status for their field performance and virus presence. The sources of planting materials were in vitro generated platelets, symptomless Field materials and Farmer’s materials. Four sweetpotato varieties Apomuden, Bohye, Ligri and Dadanyuie were selected from each source of planting material. The trial was laid in a split plot design with the sources of planting material allocated to main plots and the varieties to sub-plots. The plantlets of the four varieties were planted at Botanga Irrigation Scheme in Northern region of Ghana. Viral symptom scores were taken twice, score 1 being the average from 4 - 7 weeks after planting (WAP) and score 2 being the average from 8 - 11 WAP. Nitrocellulose Membranes Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (NCM-ELISA) kits were employed for the detection of sweetpotato viruses on the field. The source of planting materials significantly influenced (P In vitro generated material showed the least symptoms of virus followed by Field materials. Apomuden and Bohye varieties recorded the highest virus score in the first and second virus symptom observational score respectively. NCM-ELISA revealed that the viruses SPFMV, SPMMV, SPMSV, SPCFV, SPCSV, and CMV were significantly present among the different sources of planting materials. In vitro, Field and Farmer materials recorded NCM-ELISA score of 0.225, 1.075 and 1.500 respectively. Apomuden variety recorded the highest virus score in the assay. Vine and root yield was higher among the in vitro generated material. Farmers should use laboratory cleaned material however, in the absence of such material they should select field material showing no symptom of virus.

Effects of Uniconazole on Physiological and Biochemical Properties of Roots of Different Sweetpotato Cultivars at Seedling Stage

Objective] This study almed to investigate the effects of uniconazoIe on physioIogical and biochemical properties of roots of different sweetpotato cuItivars at seedIing stage. [Method] Under hydroponic conditions in a greenhouse, the effects of exogenous uniconazoIe on physioIogical and biochemical properties of roots of different sweetpotato cuItivars at seedIing stage were analyzed under continuous drought stress simuIated by PEG-6000. [Result] Compared with normal water suppIy treatment （N）, drought treatment （D） decreased significantIy root Iength, root surface area, average root diameter and root voIume of Jishu 21 and Jihei 1; to be specif-ic, compared with Jishu 21, root Iength, root surface area and average root diame-ter of Jihei 1 decreased greatIy, but root voIume of Jihei 1 decreased sIightIy. SOD, POD, APX activities and MDA content of Jishu 21 and Jihei 1 increased, and root vitality of two sweetpotato cuItivars was reduced; to be specific, compared with Jihei 1, Jishu 21 exhibited significantIy improved SOD, POD, APX activities, sIightIy im-proved MDA content and remarkabIy reduced root vitality. IAA, GAs and ZR con-tents of Jishu 21 and Jihei 1 decIined at seedIing stage; ABA content of two sweetpotato cuItivars was improved; to be specific, compared with Jihei 1, IAA, GAs and ZR contents of Jishu 21 were reduced sIightIy, whiIe ABA content of Jishu 21 was improved sIightIy. Under stress conditions, uniconazoIe treatment increased sig-nificantIy root Iength and root surface area of Jihei 1 and increased sIightIy root voIume of Jihei 1 compared with Jishu 21; uniconazoIe treatment increased signifi-cantIy SOD, POD and APX activities and root vitality of Jihei 1 and decIined re-markabIy MDA content of Jihei 1 compared with Jishu 21; uniconazoIe treatment in-creased significantIy IAA, ZR and ABA contents of Jihei 1 compared with Jishu 21. [Conclusion] Drought-toIerant sweetpotato cuItivar Jishu 21 exhibits high pIasma membrane integrity and root vitality by increasing activities of antioxidant enzymes under drought stress and malntalning high contents of IAA, ZR and ABA. Unicona-zoIe exerts greater reguIatory effects on physioIogical and biochemical properties of drought-sensitive sweetpotato cuItivar Jihei 1 under drought stress.

Yield Composition Analysis of Vine Tip of Leaf-vegetable Sweetpotato

Total yields of vine tip of seven varieties of Leaf-vegetable sweetpotato during 2006-2007 were investigated; proportions of the weights of leaf, leaf stalk and stem in total vine tip yield and their changes among varieties and during topping stages were studied. The results showed that vine tip yields of sweetpotato were significantly different among either varieties or topping stages; leaf yield accounted for about 51% of total vine yield, and changes in leaf yield among topping stages were higher than that among varieties; while yields of leaf stalk and stem each accounted for 25% of total vine tip yield, their changes among varieties were higher than those among topping stages. These results revealed the yield composition of vine tip of Leaf-vegetable sweetpotato, which provided scientific references for breeding and cultivating new Leaf-vegetable sweetpotato variety and its industrialization.

Analysis of Antioxidant Characteristics in Seedling Roots of Sweetpotato(Ipomoea batatas(L.) Lam.) with Different Drought Tolerance under Simulated Drought Stress

[Objective] Jishu 21 with strong drought tolerance and Jizishu 1 with weak drought tolerance were chosen to reveal antioxidant characteristics in seedling roots of sweetpotato with different drought tolerance. [Method] Active oxygen, antioxidant substances and antioxidant enzymes in seedling roots of sweetpotato with different drought tolerance were analyzed by hydroponics with PEG-6000 for simulating drought stress in the experiment. [Result] The results showed that under drought stress, H202 content and formation rate of 02_ in seedling roots of Jizishul were higher than Jishu 21 by 1.9% and 102.6%, respectively, the contents of Vc in seed- ing roots of Jizishu 1 and Jizishu 1 increased by 25.3% and 81.1%, respectively, and the contents of polyphenols increased by 24.8% and 37.6% in the two vari- eties, respectively. The increase amplitudes of Jizishu 1 were higher than Jishu 21 in the above indexes. Antioxidant enzyme activities were higher in seedling roots of Jisl^u 21 and Jizishul under drought stress than normal treatments; and among them, POD activity was the highest, while PPO activity was the lowest in all an- tioxidant enzymes. The increases of SOD, POD, APX and PPO activities in Jishu 21 were twice of those in Jizishul. The bands of SOD3, POD2, CAT1, APX2 and PPO2 changed obviously between the drought treatments of the two varieties. [Con- clusion] In conclusion, stronger drought tolerance in sweetpotato results in lower in- crease amplitudes of H202 content, formation rate of 02- and contents of Vc and polyphenols under drought stress, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes are stronger in seeding roots under drought stress; and the differences in antioxidant enzymes are mainly related to the changes of isoenzymes including SOD3, POD2, CAT1. APX2 and PPO2.

Effects of Soil and Environment on Quality Traits of Purple-fleshed Sweetpotato

For the study of main traits of purple-flashed sweetpotato in different soil and ecological environments, 18 cultivars of purple-flashed sweetpotato with different enthocyenin contents were planted at Yancheng and Xuzhou separately. The main quality traits were determined. The results showed the quality traits of purple-fleshed sweetpotato were significantly influenced by soil and ecological environments. Geno- type （G）, environment （E） and genotype x environment （GxE） interaction had signif- icantiy effects on the contents of anthocyanin, dry matter, starch, protein, reducing sugar and soluble sugar in storage roots. Anthocyanin content was most easily af- fected by the environment. The E effect on anthocyanin content was greater than G and GxE effects. However, the GxE interaction effects on other 5 quality traits were greater than G and E effects. The 6 quality traits were significantly different at 1% level under different environments respectively. The contents of dry matter, starch and anthocyenin were higher in Yancheng than in Xuzhou, while the contents of protein, reducing sugar and soluble sugar were higher in Xuzhou. The variation co- efficients of all quality traits at Yancheng and Xuzhou were in the same order： an- sugar〉protein〉starch, the variation coefficient of anthocyanin content was higher in Xuzhou, and the variation coefficients of other 5 traits were higher in Yancheng. Correlation analysis showed that the reducing sugar and solu- ble sugar contents were negatively correlated with starch content, and had no sig- nifiant correlation with anthocyanin and protein contents. Dry matter content and starch content were positively correlated, and anthocyanin content and other quality traits had no significant correlation.

Effects of Genotype and Planting Density on Agronomic Traits and Storage Root of Sweetpotato

The effects ol different genotypes and planting densities on main agronomic traits, storage root traits and yield were studied with 6 high-quality sweetpotato varieties as study objects by 2-factor completely random design. The results showed that there were significant differences in stem diameter, length of the longest vine and top/root （T/R） between different genotypes, T/R differed significantly under dif- ferent planting densities, and number of basal branches decreased with planting density increasing. Genotype and genotype x density showed significant or very sig- nificant effects on fresh root yield per plant, dry matter content and fresh root yield per hectare, fresh root yield per plant gradually decreased with planting density in- creasing, while fresh root yield per hectare increased with planting density increas- ing. Numbers of storage roots in different sizes of the 6 sweetpotato cultivars all exhibited an order of number of large-sized storage roots〈number of medium-sized storage roots〈small-sized storage root; and there were very significant differences in ratio of large-sized storage roots between different genotypes. The number of large- sized storage roots, ratio of large-sized storage roots and number of commercial storage roots deceased with planting density increasing, while there were no signifi- cant differences in number of medium-sized storage roots, number of small-sized storage roots, ratio of medium-sized storage roots and ratio of small-sized storage roots between different densities. Correlation analysis showed that there was signifi- cant positive correlation between number of basal branches and fresh root yield per plant; dry matter content in storage roots was in significant positive correlation with stem diameter, and in significant negative correlation with length of the longest vine; fresh root yield per hectare was in significant positive correlation with fresh root yield per plant, and in very significant negative correlation with dry matter content; and ratio of large-sized storage roots was in very significant positive correlation with number of large-sized storage root and fresh root yield per plant, and in very sig- nificant negative correlation with ratio of medium-sized storage roots and ratio of small-sized storage roots. This experiment showed that under the planting density of 7.5×104 plants/hm2, the 6 sweetpotato cultivars all reached the highest numbers of commercial storage roots and fresh root yields per hectare.

Analysis on the Essential Characters and Biological Yield Change of Purple-fleshed Sweetpotato Xuzishu 3

Objective] This study was performed to investigate the trait changes and their correlations as wel as the dynamic changes of biological yield of Xuzishu 3, which wil help to enhance the yield and anthocyanin content of sweetpotato by cul-tivation. [Method] We systematical y measured the agronomic traits, qualitative char-acters and biological yield of Xuzishu 3 during six growing periods to investigate the dynamic changes of its essential characters and yield accumulation. [Result] The characters of Xuzishu 3 appeared most prosperous after the 90th d except for an-thocyanin content. Extremely significant positive correlations were found between ev-ery two of the dry matter rates of above-ground parts （including leaf petioles, leaves and stems）, reducing sugar content and potato weight per plant. Assimilated product distributed more in stems and leaves than in storage roots before the 90th d in growing period. Photosynthetic capacity and net assimilation rate gradual y de-creased after the 90th d, but the assimilated product distributing to storage roots in-creased quickly and maximized in the 135th d. [Conclusion] Xuzishu 3 is a late ma-turing variety requiring more fertilizer, and the accumulation of anthocyanin fluctuates during the growth period of Xuzishu 3. So yield of Xuzishu 3 can be increased by applying more fertilizer and extending the growth period reasonably, meanwhile the anthocyanin content can be increased by means of control ing temperature, light, water and phytohormone within 60 d after planting.

Correlation, Principal Component and Grey Relation Analysis of Sweetpotato Root Biological Traits

[Objective] This study was conducted to explore the internal relationship among root biological traits of sweetpotato, as well as the regularity in their formation and differentiation. [Method] The root traits of 10 sweetpotato cultivars were measured through hydroponic culture in a greenhouse and field survey, and then their correlations were analyzed by statistical methods. [Result] The root morphological traits of sweetpotato at seedling stage such as projected area, surface area, average diameter and volume processed the highest contribution rate （80.56%） 10 d after transplanting, and the contribution rate of root average diameter reached 27.79% 20 d after transplanting. Storage root fresh weight per plant shared extremely significant positive correlations with storage root fresh weight of penultimate node and storage root fresh weight of antepenultimate node, and a significant positive corre- lation with commercial storage root number, and a significant negative correlation with storage root number of penultimate node. Among them, the correlation coeffi- cient of storage root fresh weight per plant with storage root fresh weight of antepenultimate node was the highest （0.659 5）. Fifteen days after transplanting, storage root fresh weight per plant had significant negative correlations with root projected area, surface area and volume. There was a significant positive correlation between root dry weight and storage root fresh weight per plant 25 d after transplanting. Root dry weight, volume, length, average diameter of sweetpotato seedlings had higher relational degrees with storage root fresh weight per plant. Ten and twenty days after transplanting were important time for the growth and differentiation of sweetpotato roots. In addition, node length and planting depth had certain influence on sweetpotato yield, and direct relationship existed between the seedling root biological traits and storage root yield of sweetpotato. [Conclusion] The results provide theoretical support for standard cultivation and new variety breeding of sweetpotato.

Preliminary Report on Sweetpotato Seedling Using Column-style Soilless Cultivation

[Objective] The aim was to provide scientific references for column-style soil ess cultivation. [Method] Comparisons were made on growth characters of sweet potato by two cultivation modes, including column-style cultivation and soil-bed culti-vation. [Result] Compared with soil-bed cultivation, under column-style soil ess culti-vation, Jinyu and Sushu No. 8 improved in terms of hundred-seedling weight, hun-dred same-length seedling weight, the number of leaf, transverse and longitudinal lengths, seedling length and stem diameter, especially in first three cutting periods. [Conclusion] Column-style soil ess cultivation has advantages in sweet potato seedling cultivation and worthy of being applied.

Dynamic Accumulation of β-carotene and Dry Matter in Orange-fleshed Sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas(L.) Lam] and Their Correlation Analysis

Using three orange-fleshed sweetpotato varieties as experimental materials,16 economic traits at 60 d,75 d,90 d,105 d,120 d and 135 d after planting were measured,so as to revealing the dynamic variations of β-carotene and dry matter accumulation in roots and their relationships with economic traits in orangefleshed sweetpotato.The results showed that the dynamic variations of β-carotene accumulation in tubers varied hugely among different varieties.Interesting,the βcarotene content of all three varieties showed a significant decrease after 120 d,while the dry matter content of them performed a similar ＂fluctuation-type＂.Correlation analysis indicated that β-carotene content of three orange-fleshed sweetpotato varieties had no significant correlation with dry matter content and photosynthetic parameters,but the correlation with other economic traits also varied among varieties.

Screening and Breeding of Sweetpotato Varieties Suitable for Mechanical Harvesting

The lower degree of mechanical harvesting is a bottleneck hindering the healthy development of sweetpotato industry in China, while the mismatching be- tween agricultural machinery and agronomy is one of the main factors for poor me- chani.cal harvesting. In this study, total five sweetpotato varieties were selected, and the effects of different shapes and sizes on mechanical harvesting of sweetpotato were investigated. The results showed that the breakage rate of Xuzishu 5 was lowest, so it is more suitable for mechanical harvesting in field. At the same time, the correlations between sweetpotato shape, breakage rate and exposure rate were analyzed. It was found that there was a significant linear correlation between sweet- potato shape and breakage rate （P〈0.01）; the higher the flat rate is, the higher the breakage rate is; and sweetpotato shape had no significant effect on exposure rate. Therefore, tuberous root with lower flat rate, as well as better agronomic characters should be selected in the breeding process of new sweetpotato varieties.

Effect of Salt on the Sensory and Keeping Quality of Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato Crisps

The study was carried out to determine the effect of salt on the sensory, nutritive and keeping quality of OFSP crisps. Crisps were made by deep frying slices of approximately 3.5 mm thickness treated with, 2% and 4% table salt. A control with no salt treatment was prepared alongside the treated ones. Two varieties of OFSP;Ejumula and Kakamega were used in the study. After deep frying, the crisps were cooled to room temperature, packed in paper-lined high density polythene pouches and stored in a dark cupboard at room temperature for three months. During the storage period, the crisps were analyzed for proteins, fat and carotenoid content. Changes in sensory attributes were analyzed using a semi-trained panel. Results indicated that freshly prepared crisps treated with 2% salt had the highest acceptability mean scores for all attributes while there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between crisps made from either Ejumula or Kakamega variety. Carotenoid content decreased with increase in salt concentration in both OFSP varieties. Shelf-life studies showed that the decline in sensory attributes started after 2 months of storage. The study shows that OFSP crisps treated with 2% salt are more acceptable and reasonably stable during storage.

Selection of Parents for Breeding Edible Varieties of Sweetpotato with High Carotene Content

Sweetpotato varieties with high carotene content have high value for human health. This work aims to improve the breeding efficiency of special varieties with high carotene content by combining molecular markers and agronomic traits to evaluate and screen the parents. The cluster analysis was carried out to identify and screen promising parents by utilizing phenotypic results of the agronomic and characteristic traits, and RAPD and ISSR markers of 15 parents and their offspring by group crossing. Among different parental materials, greater variations were observed in two important traits, the carotene content and the storage root yield. Negative correlation was found between the carotene content and both fresh and dried root yields. The most significant positive correlation was between the carotene content of parents and that of their offspring, with the coefficient of correlation value of 0.7932＊＊. The relationship based on the agronomic characters of the trial materials was not in agreement with the known genealogy, while that based on the molecular marker data showed better result. Each primer amplified 13.8 bands oflSSR markers on average, in which the rate of polymorphic loci was 89.6%. 9.4 bands of RAPD markers were arnplified per primer, in which the rate of polymorphic bands was 74.46%. Large genetic variation of carotene content was found among the parents. For analyzing the genetic diversity of sweetpotato, the molecular marker methods were better than morphological traits; ISSR markers were more efficient than RAPD markers. The combination of molecular markers and agronomic trait analysis may provide valuable theoretic basis for selection of parents to breed new varieties with high carotene content.

Molecular diversity and genetic structure of 380 sweetpotato accessions as revealed by SSR markers

Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas（L.） Lam., is an important food crop widely cultivated in the world. Evaluation of genetic relationships among diverse cultivars and landraces is necessary for efficient exploitation of genetic diversity in the existing germplasm resources. In the present study, a collection of 380 sweetpotato accessions assembled from different agro-climatic zones of China and other countries were genotyped using 30 SSR primer pairs. Model-based structure analysis separated the germplasm into three populations, P1, P2 and P3, containing 228, 133 and 19 accessions, respectively, which was consistent with the results of phylogenic and principal component analysis（PCA）. Analysis of molecular variance（AMOVA） revealed significant genetic differentiation among inferred populations, accounting for 16.47% of the total molecular variance, however, the differences between the regions were not significant, the total variation were due to the differences between the genotypes within the population. Pairwise fixation index（F ST） suggested that populations P1 and P3 had the highest differentiation, while populations P1 and P2 had the lowest differentiation. The diversity among populations was wide, which confirmed the genetic distinction of populations. Through comparing model-based structure and domestication-based classification, it was found that the accessions of population P1 mainly belonged to modern cultivars, and the accessions of populations P2 and P3 basically corresponded to landraces, by which we suggest that modern cultivars maybe had experienced a two-step domestication history. Our results illustrated clear genetic relationships among 380 sweetpotato accessions, exhibiting the potential of accelerating the process of future sweetpotato breeding program by molecular marker based parental selection.

SSR fingerprinting of 203 sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) varieties

Simple sequence repeat （SSR） markers have been shown to be a powerful tool for varieties identification in plants. How- ever, SSR fingerprinting of sweetpotato varieties has been a little reported. In this study, a total of 1 294 SSIR primer pairs, including 1 215 genomic-SSR and 79 expressed sequence tag （EST）-SSR primer pairs, were screened with sweetpotato varieties Zhengshu 20 and Luoxushu 8 and their 2 F1 individuals randomly sampled, and 273 and 38 of them generated polymorphic bands, respectively. Four genomic-SSR and 3 EST-SSR primer pairs, which showed good polymorphism, were selected to amplify 203 sweetpotato varieties and gave a total of 172 bands, 85 （49.42%） of which were polymorphic. All of the 203 sweetpotato varieties showed unique fingerprint patterns, indicating the utility of SSR markers in variety iden- tification of this crop. Polymorphism information content （PIC） ranged from 0.5824 to 0.9322 with an average of 0.8176. SSR-based genetic distances varied from 0.0118 to 0.6353 with an average of 0.3100 among these varieties. Thus, these sweetpotato varieties exhibited high levels of genetic similarity and had distinct fingerprint profiles. The SSR fingerprints of the 203 sweetpotato varieties have been successfully constructed. The highly polymorphic SSR primer pairs developed in this study have the potential to be used as core primer pairs for variety identification, genetic diversity assessment and linkage map construction in sweetpotato and other plants.

Variation Laws of Anthocyanin Content in Roots and Their Relationships with Major Economic Traits in Purple-Fleshed Sweetpotato Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam

Variation laws of anthocyanin content in root during the development and among the varieties, and their relationships with major economic traits in purple-fleshed sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas （L.） Lam] were studied in the present article. The dynamics of 20 economic traits in 13 purple-fleshed sweetpotato varieties at 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 140 d after their transplanting were investigated, and these traits included anthocyanin content in root, length of the longest vine, number of base branches, root number, dry matter contents in stem, foliage and root, fresh/dry weight of root, fresh/dry weight of stem, flesh/dry weight of foliage, flesh/dry weight of stem and foliage, flesh/dry weight of whole plant, and rations of photosynthate to root, stem, and foliage. The correlations between the variations of anthocyanin content and the other 19 economic traits among varieties and during the whole developing stages, and the correlations of daily increase of anthocyanin content with other l0 kinds of yields were analyzed. The results showed that： （1） During the whole development, the anthocyanin content had three variation types, i.e. a slow-increase type, a fluctuating-change type, and a deviousrising type, and had different responses to the growth of length of the longest vine, number of base branches, flesh/dry yield of root, and photosynthate allotments. （2） The anthocyanin contents among 13 varieties began to have significant difference after 20 d, and showed completed differentiation during 40-100 d, which had significantly negative correlationships with the number of base branches, fresh/dry yield of root, photosynthate allotment ratio to root, and had significant positive correlationships with dry matter content of root, length of the longest vine, fresh/dry yield of stem, dry yield of whole plant and photosynthate allotment ratio to foliage. （3） Because of the significantly negative correlation between daily increase of anthocyanin content and dry matter weight of root, the anthocyanin accumulation competed with dry matter accumulation for photosynthate in root, and the competitive relation was resolved in different ways in different purple-fleshed sweetpotato （PFSP） varieties. So, there had three variation types of anthocyanin content among PFSP varieties during their development, and had different correlations between these variations of anthocyanin content and the major economic traits.

Application of near-infrared spectroscopy to predict sweetpotato starch thermal properties and noodle quality

Sweetpotato starch thermal properties and its noodle quality were analyzed using a rapid predictive method based on near-infrared spectroscopy （NIRS）. This method was established based on a total of 93 sweetpotato genotypes with diverse genetic background. Starch samples were scanned by NIRS and analyzed for quality properties by reference methods. Results of statistical modelling indicated that NIRS was reasonably accurate in predicting gelatinization onset temperature （To） （standard error of prediction SEP=2.014 ℃, coefficient of determination RSQ=0.85）, gelatinization peak temperature （Tp） （SEP=-1.371 ℃, RSQ=0.89）, gelatinization temperature range （Tr） （SEP=2.234 ℃, RSQ=0.86）, and cooling resistance （CR） （SEP=0.528, RSQ=0.89）. Gelatinization completion temperature （To）, enthalpy of gelatinization （△H）, cooling loss （CL） and swelling degree （SWD）, were modelled less well with RSQ between 0.63 and 0.84. The present results suggested that the NIRS based method was sufficiently accurate and practical for routine analysis of sweetpotato starch and its noodle quality.

Development of SNP markers using RNA-seq technology and tetraprimer ARMS-PCR in sweetpotato

The information of single nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs） is quite unknown in sweetpotato. In this study, two sweetpotato varieties （Xushu 18 and Xu 781） were sequenced by Illumina technology, as well as de novo transcriptome assembly, functional annotation, and in silico discovery of potential SNP molecular markers. Tetra-primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System PCR （ARMS-PCR） is a simple and sufficient method for detecting different alleles in SNP locus. Total 153 sets of ARMS-PCR primers were designed to validate the putative SNPs from sequences. PCR products from 103 sets of primers were different between Xu 781 and Xushu 18 via agarose gel electrophoresis, and the detection rate was 67.32%. We obtained the expected results from 32 sets of primers between the two genotypes. Furthermore, we ascertained the optimal annealing temperature of 32 sets of primers. These SNPs might be used in genotyping, QTL mapping, or marker-assisted trait selection further in sweetpotato. To our knowledge, this work was the first study to develop SNP markers in sweetpotato by using tetra-primer ARMS-PCR technique. This method was a simple, rapid, and useful techn!que to develop SNP markers, and will provide a potential and preliminary application in discriminating cultivars in sweetpotato.