Rapid and uniform seed germination is a crucial prerequisite for crop establishment and high yield levels in crop production. A disclosure of genetic factors contributing to adequate seed vigor would help to further increase yield potential and stability. Here we carried out a genome-wide association study in order to define genomic regions influencing seed germination and early seedling growth...

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...

Vicinal oxygen chelate proteins (VOC) are members of the metalloenzyme superfamily, which plays roles in many biological reactions. Some members of the VOC superfamily have been systematically characterized but not in Brassica napus. In this study, 38 VOC genes were identified based on their conserved domains. The present results revealed that most of the BnaVOC genes have few introns, and all ...

Nucleolar dominance is an epigenetic phenomenon that describes nucleolus formation around rRNA genes inherited from only one progenitor of an interspecific hybrid or allopolyploid. The phenomenon is widespread, occurring in plants, insects, amphibians, and mammals, yet its molecular basis remains unclear. We have demonstrated nucleolar dominance in three allotetraploids of the plant genus Brass...

Forage brassica (Brassica napus cv. Greenland) is bred for vegetative growth and biomass production, while its seed yield remains to be improved for seed producers without affecting forage yield and quality. Cytokinins affect seed yield by influencing flower, silique and seed number, and seed size. To identify specific cytokinin gene family members as targets for breeding, as well as genes asso...

BACKGROUND Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most important oil crops. A primary limitation to the cultivation of this crop is the lack of available phosphorus (P) in soils. To elucidate the genetic control of P deficiency tolerance in Brassica napus, quantitative trait locus (QTL) for seed yield and yield related-traits in response to P deficiency were identified using a double ha...