Cloning clubroot resistance genes from B. nigra and transferring the genes into canola through a CRISPR/Cas9 based technology

Term: 4 years, beginning in 2019
Status: Ongoing
Researcher(s): Fengqun Yu, AAFC
SaskCanola Investment: $90,475
Total Project Cost: $361,900
Funding Partners: Agriculture Development Fund, Western Grains Research Foundation

Project Description

The pathogen (P. brassicae) populations in western Canada are evolving rapidly. It is extremely important to have canola cultivars with new sources of resistance available to Saskatchewan canola producers. The availability of new resistance genes and new CRISPR/Cas9 methods for B. napus will enable canola breeders to incorporate any genes desirable from exotic germplasm rapidly and without linkage drag. As such, the cost for introgressing genes from exotic germplasm into spring canola could be dramatically reduced in the future by technologies developed in the project. In addition, cloning of clubroot resistance genes could lead to molecular characterization of these genes and the pathogen effector genes that interact with them which could support a better understanding of CR resistance for long-term clubroot control.

Objectives

  1. Identify the most probable candidates for the CR genes identified in B. nigra.

  2. Isolate candidate genes from B. nigra.

  3. Deliver the candidate genes into canola using a newly established CRISPR/Cas9 based system.

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A proteomics-based approach towards identifying host and pathogen proteins critical to clubroot establishment in canola

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WCVM Research Chair in Pollinator Health