Understanding flowering time in flax - developing early flowering varieties using genetics and epigenetics to modify gene expression

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Canada is the largest producer and exporter of flax in the world. However, Canadian flax production is largely limited to the southern parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba because there is significant risk in the northern part of the grain belt that a killing frost will occur before crop maturity. The development of earlier flowering and, consequently, earlier maturing flax would be beneficial to producers in the areas currently growing flax as well as for expanding the northern limits of flax cultivation in the Prairies. Thus, the aim of this project is to develop an understanding of the genetics, epigenetics, and gene expression patterns associated with early flowering and northern adapted traits in flax. The project will utilize recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed by the Crop Development Centre (CDC, University of Saskatchewan) and capitalize on research findings and knowledge generated by both the CDC and Genome Prairie's Total Utilization Flax GENomics project. The knowledge generated will be used to direct development of flax varieties suited to the northern parts of the grain belt to the direct benefit of both seed producers and the Canadian flax industry. It will also expand our understanding of how changes in methylation induced by 5-azacytidine alter gene expression and how the developmental switch from vegetative growth to flowering occurs in flax. The proposed project also represents the first case of the application of epigenetics to plant breeding.