Ideally, the ITER base blanket would provide the necessary tritium for the reactor to be self-sufficient during operation, while having minimal impact on the overall reactor cost, reliability and safety. A solid breeder blanket has been developed in the CDA phase in an attempt to achieve such objectives. The reference solid breeder base blanket configurations at the end of the CDA phase has man...

Intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) is a perennial species and has edible and nutritious grain and desirable agronomic traits, including large seed size, high grain yield, and biomass. It also has the potential to provide ecosystem services and an economic return to farmers. However, because of its allohexaploidy and self-incompatibility, developing molecular markers for genetic analysis and molecula...

Fruit trees have a long juvenile phase. For example, the juvenile phase of apple (Malus × domestica) generally lasts for 5-12 years and is a serious constraint for genetic analysis and for creating new apple cultivars through cross-breeding. If modification of the genes involved in the transition from the juvenile phase to the adult phase can enable apple to complete its life cycle within 1 yea...

Rotylenchulus reniformis resistant LONREN-1×FM966 breeding lines developed at Auburn University have demonstrated that the nematode resistance is accompanied by severe stunting, limited growth, and low yields. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of applying nematicides to selected LONREN breeding lines on R. reniformis nematode populations, plant stunting, and yield. Four ...

Canola quality Brassica juncea has been under development at the Saskatoon Research Centre for several years. Breeding efforts have focused on the development of germplasm with improved seed quality characteristics including superior fatty acid profiles, low glucosinolates and high oil content. Future breeding efforts in this crop would be greatly facilitated through the development of molecula...

Molecular ecologists increasingly require 'universal' genetic markers that can easily be transferred between species. The distribution of cross-species transferability of nuclear microsatellite loci is highly uneven across taxa, being greater in animals and highly variable in flowering plants. The potential for successful cross-species transfer appears highest in species with long generation ti...