Oil and lipid improvements in field pea, a non-traditional oilseed crop

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This research proposal aims to accelerate the development of an oil seed pea through exploration of natural variation and genetic enhancement of fatty acid accumulation in field pea. Our laboratories have recently studied molecular and biochemical aspects of lipid improvement in field pea. We have explored extraction, profile and accumulation of fatty acids including potential molecular markers associated with lipid content in pea. This needs further validation through analysis of a larger field pea population which will enable collection of a pea community for their use in molecular breeding. The improvement of the lipid content and fatty acid composition in field pea will then move toward the introduction of novel constructs for the genetic transformation of field pea to further understand lipid biosynthesis and accumulation. This research will result in the generation of a reproducible method for pea transformation through biolistic approach. The long term goal is to establish novel cultivars of field pea suitable for growth under a range of Canadian climatic conditions and to develop the infrastructure required to handle and process these oilseed peas.