The effect of the number of pods on the main inflorescence (NPMI) on seed yield in Brassica napus plants grown at high density is a topic of great economic and scientific interest. Here, we sought to identify patterns of gene expression that determine the NPMI during inflorescence differentiation. We monitored gene expression profiles in the main inflorescence of two B. napus F6 RIL pools, each...

Gene copy number variation (CNV) is increasingly implicated in control of complex trait networks, particularly in polyploid plants like rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) with an evolutionary history of genome restructuring. Here we performed sequence capture to assay nucleotide variation and CNV in a panel of central flowering time regulatory genes across a species-wide diversity set of 280 B. napus...

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are notorious plant pathogenic fungi with an extensive host range including Brassica crops. Glucosinolates (GSLs) are an important group of secondary metabolites characteristic of the Brassicales order, whose degradation products are proving to be increasingly important in plant protection. Enhancing the defense effect of GSL and their associated de...

S locus glycoprotein (SLG) and S locus receptor kinase (SRK) cDNAs were isolated from an S allele present in a number of self-compatible Brassica napus lines. This A10 allele did not segregate with self-incompatibility in crosses involving other self-incompatible B. napus lines. The SLG-A10 cDNA was found to contain an intact open reading frame and was predicted to encode an SLG protein with se...

A number of studies have been conducted on hybridization between transgenic Brassica napus and B. rapa or backcross of F1 hybrid to their parents. However, trait changes must be analyzed to evaluate hybrid sustainability in nature. In the present study, B. rapa and transgenic (BrAGL20) B. napus were hybridized to verify the early flowering phenomenon of F1 hybrids, and F1 hybrid traits were ana...

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...

Soil salinity is a serious threat to agriculture sustainability worldwide. Salt tolerance at the seedling stage is crucial for plant establishment and high yield in saline soils; however, little information is available on rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) salt tolerance. We evaluated salt tolerance in different rapeseed accessions and conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify sal...

To extend our knowledge of genes expressed during early embryogenesis, the differential display technique was used to identify and isolate mRNA sequences that accumulate preferentially in young Brassica napus embryos. One of these genes encodes a new member of the MADS domain family of regulatory proteins; it has been designated AGL15 (for AGAMOUS-like). AGL15 shows a novel pattern of expressio...

OBJECTIVE Asthma is an airway complex disease defined by reversible airway narrowing and obstruction, chronic airway inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness, and tissue remodeling. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Brassica napus L. (B. napus) on airway pathologic changes in a rat model of asthma. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-four rats were divided into 4 groups: contr...