The differential lines will provide canola pathologists and breeders with an extremely valuable tool for assessing the effectiveness of resistance. They will be made available to the canola industry for variety development, which will ensure that Saskatchewan producers have a diverse range of clubroot resistant cultivars to select from.

Genetic resistance is considered as the most efficient method for control of blackleg. Previous research results indicate that both Canadian and Chinese B. napus varieties could carry novel genes for resistance to blackleg. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and map the unknown R genes in the canola varieties.

There is a pressing need to improve productivity of crops, in order to maximize yield without further expanding arable land. The ability to make further crop improvements relies on the introduction of novel allelic variation, one such source being related species; however, interspecific barriers to recombination limit the transfer of new variation into crops.

The overall deliverables of this project is to generate highly annotated phenomic datasets to support genetic dissection and breeding, association of genotype with phenotype for abiotic-stress tolerance traits, and characterized germplasm for directed crop improvement.

Seed of PAK93-based pre-breeding lines will be more attractive to plant breeding companies than the original germplasm such as PAK54, primarily because it will be faster to develop hybrid varieties that combine the desirable traits from PAK93-derived lines with other important traits such as herbicide tolerance and resistance to the diseases, blackleg and clubroot.

Increase canola protein inclusion rates in monogastric animal feeds, followed by canola germplasm that produces protein better suited for human diets, and finally specialty varieties that produce protein for specific technical applications.

The proposed research will deliver knowledge and tools to improve utilization of existing clubroot resistant cultivars and to accelerate the discovery of new clubroot resistance genes, with the anticipation of exploring broad-spectrum and durable clubroot resistance that will be highly beneficial to breeders and growers of canola and other Brassica crops.

The pathogen (P. brassicae) populations in western Canada is evolving rapidly. It is extremely important to have canola cultivars with new sources of resistance avialabe to canola producers in Saskatchewan.

Our knowledge of pathogen virulence genes and plant race specific resistance (R) genes in the Leptosphaeria-Brassica pathosystem has tremendously advanced in the past two decades.

Growing clubroot-resistant (CR) cultivars in appropriate rotations remains the most effective solution to the long-term management of clubroot disease.

The ability to integrate stable clubroot resistance into new germplasm is needed to protect the economy while ensuring sustainability and growth in canola growing regions.

Crop residues supply critically needed carbon (C) and nutrients to the soil. These residue-derived resources support plant growth and the formation of soil organic matter, a cornerstone of soil health.

This project aims to contribute to the development of elite canola varieties that are resistant to pathogen infection for the betterment of the canola industry.

This project will help improve canola production efficiency and improve the national and global competitiveness of the Canadian canola industry (in the long term).

This project is designed to assess water-limited yield potential of the transgenic canola lines.

This has the potential to open up plant breeding to a whole new way to identify germplasm variation in breeding programs.

Clubroot disease in canola and other brassicas is caused by the pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan conducted a five-year study to identify and characterize effector proteins and their role in the establishment and progression of clubroot disease.

New sources of clubroot and blackleg resistance are needed in western Canada because virulent pathogen populations have been reported that are able to overcome the resistance of canola cultivars for both diseases.

Cultivar resistance is considered the most effective and practical approach for clubroot management. However, current resistant canola cultivars, available in Canada since 2009, were based on a single clubroot resistance (CR) gene.

Surveillance monitoring has shown that blackleg is again increasing in incidence and severity in western Canada, in part due to breakdown of a widely used major resistance gene. Sclerotinia stem rot is also a serious disease for canola growers, particularly in severe wet and cool growing seasons.