Genome-Wide Association Study of Genetic Control of Seed Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Brassica napus

Fatty acids and their composition in seeds determine oil value for nutritional or industrial purposes and also affect seed germination as well as seedling establishment. To better understand the genetic basis of seed fatty acid biosynthesis in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) we applied a genome-wide association study, using 91,205 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) characterized across a mapping population with high-resolution skimgenotyping by sequencing (SkimGBS). We identified a cluster of loci on chromosome A05 associated with oleic and linoleic seed fatty acids. The delineated genomic region contained orthologs of the Arabidopsis thaliana genes known to play a role in regulation of seed fatty acid biosynthesis such as Fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase B (FATB) and Fatty Acid Desaturase (FAD5). This approach allowed us to identify potential functional genes regulating fatty acid composition in this important oil producing crop and demonstrates that this approach can be used as a powerful tool for dissecting complex traits for B. napus improvement programs

Identification of the genetic basis of germination in rape seed (Brassica napus L.) using genetic mapping

Badano populację mapującą rzepaku ozimego złożoną z 78 linii podwojonych haploidów uzyskanych z mieszańców pochodzących ze skrzyżowania linii różniących się siłą kiełkowania. Siła kiełkowania nasion była automatycznie rejestrowana co 30 min przy pomocy aparatu fotograficznego umieszczonego w minikomputerze Raspberry Pi. Zdjęcia przeanalizowano przy pomocy oprogramowania stworzonego w John Innes Centre. W kolejnym etapie wykorzystując metodę sekwencjonowania całego genomu (Illumina® HiSeq) wszystkich linii populacji mapującej zidentyfikowano polimorfizmy pojedynczego nukleotydu (SNPs) w tych liniach. Dane te posłużą do mapowania genetycznego i identyfikacji genów regulujących proces kiełkowania.The mapping population of winter oilseed rape composed of 78 doubled haploid lines obtained from hybrids originating from the intersection of lines differing in germination power was examined. Seed germination power was automatically recorded every 30 minutes using a camera placed in the Raspberry Pi mini computer. The photos were analyzed using software created at the John Innes Center. In the next step, using the whole genome sequencing method (Illumina® HiSeq) of all mapping population lines, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in these lines. This data will be used for genetic mapping and identification of genes regulating the germination process