Production of heterologous storage polysaccharides in potato plants

Starch is the most important storage polysaccharide in higher plants. This polysaccharide is used in many industrial applications as it is abundant, renewable and biodegradable and it can be modified into a wide range of products used in food, animal feed, pharmaceuticals and industry. With the understanding of the starch biosynthesis pathway and the isolation of many of the genes involved in this process, the potential for producing novel starches with improved functionality through genetic modification of plants has become more clear. Several different strategies have been used to achieve the rational design of renewable polymers to meet specific requirements. One of these strategies is the regulation of starch biosynthesis and granule assembly in higher plants. A second strategy involves the expression of heterologous genes encoding biosynthetic or modifying enzymes from other organisms to produce novel products with novel functional properties. In this chapter, these recent developments in starch modification in potato plants, such as alteration of starch composition and production of novel storage polysaccharides, are reviewed.