Modified lipid metabolism to deliver improved low temperature tolerance in Brassica napus
Term: 4 years, ending December 2024
Status: Completed
Researcher(s): Mark Smith, AAFC
SaskCanola Investment: $73,810
Total Project Cost: $268,400
Funding Partners: Agriculture Development Fund
Project Description
The output of the project will be a better understanding of the role of lipid composition in low temperature performance in B. napus seedlings. The objective is to identify new targets for breeding canola with improved low temperature characteristics. The work is long term, but has the advantage that much is known about the enzymes and corresponding genes involved in lipid metabolism in plants, information that will aid in the faster identification of useful markers and beneficial or negative alleles for introduction or removal in breeding programs.
Objectives
Determine the membrane lipid composition of Brassica napus seeds and seedlings in lines with different seed oil composition.
Test the hypothesis of a link between B. napus seed lipid composition and germination/seedling establishment at low temperature.
Identify strategies to modify lipid metabolism to deliver improved, early season, low temperature tolerance in Brassica napus.
Evolution of enhanced cold tolerance through iterative selection.
The goal is to apply a targeted approach to identify new traits to confer improved low temperature tolerance in seedling canola.
Grower Benefits
Canola seeds can germinate at low temperature but must make major changes to their lipids to be able to grow.
The project identified important changes in lipid composition and expression of genes that encode enzymes involved in this process.
Targets that could be manipulated to potentially improve low temperature performance have been identified.
Improving low temperature performance is a complex task.