Establishment and applications of Brassica TILLING resources for development of resilient canola

Project Summary

This research will use the TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions In Genomes) technology to create new breeding opportunities and facilitate proposed efficient gene discovery pipeline that target improved performance, water usage efficiency and drought tolerance and photosynthetic efficiency.

The research team will develop 2500 independent TILLING lines in a widely used Brassica napus genotype and screen for gene variants of desirable climate adaptive performance traits. Phenotypic, developmental, and physiological analyses of TILLING lines will be performed in order to generate new advanced breeding lines with adaptive resiliency traits. Select lines from the TILLING population will be phenotypic evaluation of biochemical traits and development of their associated genetic characterization.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Establish Brassica napus TILLING lines.
2. Develop genomics resources for Brassica TILLING lines.
3. Perform phenotypic, developmental, and physiological analyses of TILLING lines (involving genetic characterization and biochemical analysis, phenotypic, developmental, and physiological studies).
4. Discovery of genetic determinants conferring desirable resilient traits in TILLING lines (by completing genomics and bioinformatics analyses of traits of TILLING lines).
5. Develop advanced breeding lines with the climate adaptive resilient water usage efficiency/drought and photosynthetic efficiency traits.