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AIR2-CT93-0879
Pod Shatter in Rape |
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Contract No | AIR2-CT93-0879 |
| Total Cost | 840 266 | |
| EC Contribution | 550 483 | |
| Start Date | 01/10/1993 | |
| Duration | 36 months |
Subsidies to the production of rapeseed oil will most likely no longer be made available by the EC in the foreseeable future. For a production of oilseed rape without subsidies to be viable, the cost of oilseed rape-production has to be brought down through efforts in breeding, optimization of agricultural practices and development of reduced-input management systems for rape production.
Loss of yield due to seed shedding by mature pods (pod shatter) is a universal problem with current oilseed rape varieties. As much as 50% of the potential yield may be lost in adverse weather conditions.
Further improvement in efficiency of seed recovery will only be possible with the development of new varieties in which the process of pod opening is inhibited. As traditional breeding has been unsuccesful in attaining shatter resistance, direct interference with the process of pod opening may instead be attained in transgenic plants. The present project aims at using and expanding the detailed knowledge available on the processes of pod opening to obtain shatter resistance through a direct interference with the pod opening and its regulation at the molecular level. Two strategies will be pursued. The endogenous concentrations of plant hormones in rape will be manipulated through the introgression of genes from the bacterium Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Which combination of genes modulating the endogenous hormones in the rape plant will be selected based on knowledge, gained from quantifications of endogenous hormones in rape during treatment with synthetic growth regulators known to affect seed and pod maturation.
Pod opening involves dissolution of cell walls in the dehiscence layer. A key enzyme in this process is a glucanase. Our second strategy will thus be to inhibit this enzyme using an antisense-RNA approach. Inhibition of gene expression through insertion of the gene in antisense orientation is a well documented technique. As this method does not involve introgression of genes foreign to rape, these transgenic plants should be considered environmentally safe a priori. Field trials are, however, outside the scope of this project which will focus on characterisation of the transformants in glasshouses and growth chambers certified for work with transgenic plants.
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Mature, opened (shattered) pod of oilseed rape |
Contacts
Coordinator
EC Scientific Officer
Participant
© Copyright 2006 Policy Statements
Updated
by CPL Press:
03/07/2007
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