Discovery Offers Bio-Solution to Severe Canola Crop Losse

Discovery Offers Bio-Solution to Severe Canola Crop Losse

Calgary -led international research team of a University, a gene discovery provides a solution to a long-standing " green seed issues ", leading to millions of dollars each year in the canola crop losses .

Marcus Samuel Sciences under the leadership from UC, University of Toronto , the University of Bordeaux, France, researchers have discovered a plant gene regulatory networks , can enhance gene , to prevent the occurrence in the mature green seeds , rapeseeds .

" Only in North America 's annual loss of nearly $ 150 million from this green issue," said Samuel , assistant professor of plant biology and biological sciences department program chair.

" I want to see this basic scientific and practical application translated into canola is a huge economic crops, we have a real solution to a major problem ."

The team's research , which includes five years of work , through the U of C teachers and students , but in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the U.S. , the world's top-ranked journals .

Alberta Canola is a major cash crop , which produces about 35% of Canadian canola produced in the province of about $ 500 million a year in revenue.

Throughout the country, oilseed crops , and its seeds are pressed into canola oil , contribute to the Canadian economy about $ 1.5 billion a year .

However, every year or so , when the rapeseed mature, light cream unpredictable touch will damage the quality of crops , causing serious damage.

"Frost does not kill the plant , but it 'fix' green seeds, " Samuel said.

He said, " non-lethal " frost , occurs at temperatures of zero to minus 2 degrees Celsius , can lead to up to 20% of the green seed - rather than mature brown or black seeds - in the mature rapeseed .

This presence of chlorophyll ( green pigments provide the plant ) the quality of mature seeds oil , the unpleasant taste and odor , and to reduce the shelf life of the oil .

The team investigated the process of going green weed species Arabidopsis thaliana , " model " of a plant , the complete genetic makeup is known, this is a relatively close genetic rapeseed .

The research team , using the " mutant " strain of Arabidopsis to produce the mature green seeds , genetic analysis , found a pathway required for seed development and to remove unnecessary seed maturation process of chlorophyll.

They found that regulate gene expression of the protein ( gene how the information is used for functional gene product synthesis ) , called ABI3, important in the removal of chlorophyll and green seeds the seeds .

An illustration itself built on the basic science , the researchers found , ABI3 upregulation of genes controlling the degradation of chlorophyll and produces yellow and green seed color mapping in 2007 . This color was first discovered in the 19th century as a trait Gregor Johann Mendel genetics pioneer , who used it as a marker traits studied .

The team also found that high expression of Arabidopsis ABI3 to the normal production of green mature seeds brown seeds , resulting in spite of the cold treatment .

"This over-expression , so that these plants to withstand the cold much better , and for the system function, even if it hits the cold , " Samuel .

"Due to the similarity of Arabidopsis and rapeseed , which would be easy to isolate the same genes and transgenic rapeseed technology ( introduction of new genes into organisms ) created varieties, but also can withstand cold conditions to produce mature brown seeds, "he said.

"In fact , we have demonstrated in our laboratory tests , canola genes work the same way ."