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Genomic dissection of floral transition in Brassica napus towards crop improvement by life cycle adaptation and hybrid yield increase
Project
Project code: DFG SPP 1530
Contract period: 01.09.2011
- 31.08.2014
Purpose of research: Basic research
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is the most important oil crop of the temperate zone with its largest cultivation areas in Europe, North America and Australia. Due to important breeding progress in the past 40 years, its oil is used for human consumption and its meal became an important livestock feed. However, the genetic basis of commonly used rapeseed is still quite narrow which is limiting the breeding progress for this species.
Floral induction is a key developmental switch in seed production. Thus, identification of the genetic factors that integrate the developmental and environmental signals that promote or inhibit flowering are key for sustainable agriculture under distinct environmental conditions.
This project has three major aims:
a comprehensive survey of flowering time genes in B. napus to detect yet unknown flowering time (FTi) regulators by transcriptome analysis, promotor analysis, linkage mapping and association mapping of FTi orthologs
the detection and phenotypic evaluation of new FTi mutants and sequence variants by TILLING and EcoTILLING
Analysis of the genome-wide transcriptional variation in three different B. napus phenological ecotypes (winter and spring types) at Flowering transition stage
The development of novel high-throughput sequencing methods (NGS) has provided a new tool for genome and transcriptome studies (RNA-seq) and will facilitate gene expression analysis of the candidate genes. Furthermore, a TILLING protocol was established for B. napus which now allows routine selection of mutants.
Section overview
Subjects
- Plant Breeding
Collaborative Project
Flowering time control: from natural variation to crop improvement - Phase 1