Several species from the Brassica genus are very important agricultural crops in different parts of the world and are also known to be heavy metal accumulators. There have been a large number of studies regarding the tolerance, uptake and defense mechanism in several of these species, notably Brassica juncea and B. napus, against the stress induced by heavy metals. Numerous studies have also be...

Energy and nutrient digestibility of solvent-extracted canola meal (CM) is limited in pigs by its relatively high fiber content. The seed hull, which greatly contributes to the fiber content of CM, is denser than the oil-free cotyledon. By utilizing streams of air, air classification partially separates these seed components on the basis of their different sizes and densities to produce a low-f...

We developed Diversity Array Technology (DArT) markers for application in genetic studies of Brassica napus and other Brassica species with A or C genomes. Genomic representation from 107 diverse genotypes of B. napus L. var. oleifera (rapeseed, AACC genomes) and B. rapa (AA genome) was used to develop a DArT array comprising 11 520 clones generated using PstI/BanII and PstI/BstN1 complexity re...

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is grown in different geographical regions of the world. It is adapted to different environments by modification of flowering time and requirement for cold. A broad variation exists from very early-flowering spring-type to late-flowering winter cultivars which only flower after exposure to an extended cold period. B. napus is an allopolyploid species which resulted ...

RNA silencing is an important mechanism to regulate gene expression and antiviral defense in plants. Nevertheless, RNA silencing machinery in the important oil crop Brassica napus and function in resistance to the devastating fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum are not well-understood. In this study, gene families of RNA silencing machinery in B. napus were identified and their role in res...

Earliness of flowering and maturity are important traits in spring Brassica napus canola-whether grown under long- or short-day condition. By use of a spring B. napus mapping population carrying the genome content of B. oleracea and testing this population under 10 to 18 h photoperiod and 18 to 20 0C (day) temperature conditions, we identified a major QTL on the chromosome C1 affecting flowerin...

DNA methylation is an important regulatory mechanism for gene expression that involved in the biological processes of development and differentiation in plants. To investigate the association of DNA methylation with heterosis in Brassica, a set of intraspecific hybrids in Brassica rapa and B. napus and interspecific hybrids between B. rapa and B. napus, together with parental lines, were used t...

Polyploidization is a widespread process that results in the merger of two or more genomes in a common nucleus. To investigate modifications of gene expression occurring during allopolyploid formation, the Brassica napus allotetraploid model was chosen. Large-scale analyses of the proteome were conducted on two organs, the stem and root, so that >1600 polypeptides were screened. Comparative pro...

Acyl-coA binding proteins could transport acyl-coA esters from plastid to endoplasmic reticulum, prior to fatty acid biosynthesis, leading to the formation of triacylglycerol. The structure and the subcellular localization of acyl-coA binding proteins (ACBP) in Brassica napus were computationally predicted in this study. Earlier, the structure analysis of ACBPs was limited to the small ACBPs, t...

The phytotoxicity of Se(IV) was determined through root and shoot growth inhibition, biomass (dry (DM), fresh (FM)) production, water content, photosynthetic pigment (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids) levels and Se accumulation in the roots and shoots. The sensitivities of monocotyledonae (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum) and dicotyledonae plants (Sinapis alba, Brassica napus) we...