Accelerated Breeding for Disease Resistance in Commercial Brassicas by Associative Transcriptomics

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Baby Leaf Kale (BLK) has been popularised as a super food, through the growing health awareness and weight loss movement in the USA and Europe. Consequently, the demand for BLK has increased with global consumption rising by 40% in just one year (2012 - 2013). Diseases caused by mildews and bacteria are a major problem in BLK production. This problem has become even more challenging due to enforced reductions in agrochemical use as a result of changing legislation in early 2015. There are also tight restrictions on the Minimal Residue Level (MRL) of pesticides and fungicides which are defined product by product and frequently reviewed. CN Seeds is a UK-based commercial seed breeding company specializing in breeding baby leaf salad seeds, including BLK and herb seeds. BLK has been the company's best-selling product over the last two years, accounting for 12% of total revenues. The continual introduction of new varieties that meet and exceed customer needs is a key component of CN Seeds competitive strategy. This interchange project addresses the challenge of developing disease-resistance with a commercially desirable BLK variety by transferring knowledge between scientists at JIC and CN Seeds. The JIC scientists are working on developing disease resistance in oilseed rape, an important brassica closely related to BLK. The methods that they are using for variety improvement in oilseed rape can be directly applied to BLK, and this interchange aims to transfer that knowledge. The JIC scientists will visit CN Seeds to learn about commercial production of seed for the leaf salad market and the constraints imposed by diseases. This will enable them to tailor their research to address this issue more effectively. A CN Seeds scientist will also work at JIC, learning how to develop disease-resistance screening procedures and about a novel breeding technique known as associative transcriptomics. This genetic technique rapidly identifies gene loci associated with disease resistance which can be used to develop molecular markers for accelerated breeding.The interchange benefits both JIC and UK science generally through improved understanding of the commercial constraints on seed production; this will enable researchers to target their science to achieve greater impact. The interchange is supported financially by CN Seeds which benefits through improved competitiveness against overseas rivals, increasing exports and revenue for the UK economy.