CRISPR/Cas can be used to target genes in potato research. Many commercial potato cultivars are tetraploid, which makes it necessary to consider multiple alleles; potato should not be described as universally tetraploid.
A documented example is the study by Andersson and colleagues in Plant Cell Reports, published in 2017. The researchers targeted granule-bound starch synthase in tetraploid potato and obtained lines with altered starch after loss of gene function in all four alleles.
This result concerns a defined experimental trait. It does not by itself demonstrate higher field yields, nutritional benefits for consumers or a commercially available late-blight-resistant variety.
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Correction, 11 November 2026: the earlier references to unnamed papers in Nature Biotechnology and Plant Biotechnology Journal have been removed. The article now identifies an actual study and distinguishes its result from broader claims.
