Impact of synergistic interaction between V. longisporum and L. maculans on canola yield
Canola production is threatened by various diseases. Two of such disease are blackleg (BL) and Verticillium stripe (VS). Yield loss due to blackleg is estimated at 17.2% per every unit increase in disease severity.
Expanding BnVQs (Valene-Glutamine) gene family against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in canola
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, which causes Sclerotinia Stem Rot (SSR) or white mold diseases, is a devasting necrotrophic pathogen that infects a broad range of plant species, including soybean, cotton, sunflower, and canola. Sclerotinia stem rot disease is a major disease distributed across major canola/rapeseed/oilseed rape growing regions. This soil-borne disease is one of the major diseases in canola-growing regions in Canada.
Comparative analysis of Verticillium longisporum lineages in the Canadian Prairies: Safeguarding canola production
The escalating frequency of drought conditions in the prairies is anticipated to exacerbate the prevalence and severity of Verticillium stripe disease. As a result, the threat posed by Verticillium stripe disease looms larger over canola production in the Canadian Prairies, necessitating diligent monitoring and proactive management strategies to safeguard crop yields and economic sustainability. Therefore, it is imperative to gain a comprehensive understanding of the genetic diversity and population structure of V. longisporum lineages prevalent in the prairies.
New pre-breeding tools for canola - facilitating canola improvement by accessing diploid variation
Access to genetic diversity is key to the success of crop breeding programs and, in this regard, the canola gene pool is particularly limited. This is due to the natural history of amphidiploid Brassica napus (AACC) being formed from an interspecific hybridization event between its diploid progenitor species B. rapa (A genome) and B. oleracea (C genome). This hybridization event(s) occurred recently (ca. 2000 years ago) meaning that there has been limited time for mutations and introgressions to occur and natural selection to increase the frequency of alleles required for further crop improvement. Canola breeders use a range of strategies to overcome this deficiency including mutagenesis, wide genetic crosses and crosses involving wild relatives.
In vitro culture of Plasmodiophora brassicae
Plasmodiophora brassicae is an obligate pathogen so must have a host to complete its life cycles and, by definition, cannot be grown in pure culture. The pathogen lives within the cells of its host throughout most its life cycle. Resting spores are produced in infected roots and are released into the soil as the roots decay. These represent the only source of pure pathogen available. However, when trying to get ‘clean’ cells for sequencing and other research, the P. brassicae material is generally contaminated with genes from plants and soil microbes which causes problems. A method to grow pure cultures of cells of P. brassicae, outside of the host, would be very useful for many types of research, and especially as a tool for selecting clubroot resistant canola lines, and advancing breeding canola for clubroot resistance.
Methods to isolate and maintain clubroot for improved resistance screening and labeling
Although planting resistant canola varieties is the primary approach for clubroot management, a growing number of clubroot pathotypes has emerged in recent years that can overcome host resistance, posing a significant challenge for growers. As such, it is critical to identify novel sources of resistance that are effective against these emerging strains of the pathogen. The identification of and breeding for resistance relies on testing host lines by inoculating them with the most prevalent and/or significant clubroot pathotypes on the Prairies.
Clubroot resistance gene function based on whole genome sequences, genome editing and resistance phenotypes
The proposed research will characterize CR genes based on genome-wide association analyses between clubroot disease data and the whole genome sequence (WGS) data from UA clubroot resistance donors and 28 Brassica hosts available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Brassica database (BRAD) websites.
Preserving hybrid vigour through a novel apomixis breeding strategy in Brassica crops
Engineering apomixis, the asexual reproduction through seeds without fertilization, will provide major advances to plant breeding. This is a technology which could quickly capture and maintain valuable genotypes and associated traits without inbreeding depression and help select for traits not available to current breeding strategies.
Establishing transgene-free CRISPR/Cas9 based genome editing platform to improve canola resistance against clubroot disease
Clubroot disease significantly affects canola seed quality by reducing oil content and seed weight. The most effective solution to control this disease today is growing clubroot-resistant (CR) cultivars in appropriate rotations.
Impact of drought and heat during flowering on canola yield
Droughts in 2001, 2008 and 2021 adversely affected crop production in Saskatchewan. Canola’s resilience to heat and drought depends on when these stresses occur within the crop lifecycle. Plants may recover after stress during the vegetative stage, but stress during flowering and/or pod development usually has a negative effect on yield.
Virus-induced gene silencing in hairy roots to test root pathogen resistance
The proposed research we propose builds on an approach that promises to significantly enhance current knowledge of the mechanisms by which the clubroot pathogen causes disease and provides a new functional genomics tool to the research community.
Identifying novel genetic factors contributing to durable disease resistance in canola
As with many crops, canola faces increasing challenges due to unpredictable environmental changes, notably last year drought conditions were prevalent, while in 2022 high heat stress during flowering and pod filling is likely to cause yield losses.
Functional use of core pathogenicity genes to develop mitigation strategies against blackleg of canola and FHB of wheat
This proposal aims to identify core pathogenicity factors (effectors) of Lm and Fg and determine their function. This information could be used to develop biological and chemical fungicides that target the effector gene expression or block the function of effector gene products.
Overcoming blackleg disease in canola through establishment of quantitative resistance
Non-race specific resistance against blackleg disease of Brassica napus canola, known as adult plant resistance (APR), is a quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes. The APR trait is highly durable against the blackleg pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans (Lm), although the nature of causative APR genes is not known.
Towards better understanding of Leptosphaeria-Brassica interactions via international collaborations to standardize the nomanclature of blackleg resistance genes
Our understanding of genetics and genomics of Leptosphaeria maculans-Brassica pathosystem has advanced rapidly in the past decade through the efforts of the international research community.
From field to the genome. Application of third generation sequencing to direct genotyping of canola pathogens
Control of clubroot disease, which is best achieved by the use of resistant canola cultivars and crop rotation, requires continuous monitoring of pathogen presence and pathogen load. In addition, not all P. brassicae pathotypes (isolates) are the same in terms of their virulence.
Increasing abiotic (drought) and biotic (clubroot) resistance in Brassica species (Arabidopsis and Canola) by modifying auxin response
The proposed research will help to mitigate potential impacts of clubroot via the development of novel, genetically improved canola that is more resistant to both drought and clubroot.
Modified lipid metabolism to deliver improved low temperature tolerance in Brassica napus
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.
Determine the contribution of specific defence genes to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum resistance in canola (Brassica napus)
The proposed research will demonstrate the effectiveness of specific genes in canola for resistance to sclerotinia. Plant breeders will be able to select QTLs to increase the likelihood of capturing these resistance genes in breeding lines.
Identifying the optimal root system architecture (RSA) for Brassica crops
The current project aims to define a root system architecture RSA that contributes to improved NUE for canola and will allow the reduction of nitrogen inputs while maintaining productivity. With increasing temperatures predicted for the Prairies in coming years it is becomes imperative to generate climate resilient crops.