Developing robust canola lines with enhanced shatter tolerance and improved seed degreening traits

油菜籽是加拿大的主要经济作物，每年为加拿大经济贡献约267亿美元。加拿大油菜籽，特别是加拿大西部的油菜籽一直处于干旱和过早霜冻等不利天气条件下，导致油菜籽过早碎裂和绿籽含量增加。我们最近确定了涉及转录因子Abscisic acid insensitive 3 （ABI3）的分子通路，该转录因子负责保护油菜籽免受霜冻诱导的绿籽。我们现在有证据表明，在油菜籽中过度表达这一途径可以提高抗破碎性，并使油菜籽即使在霜冻后也能脱色。通过与NUTRIEN的合作，我们的目标是通过利用包括非转基因方法在内的多种方法来提高油菜的抗破碎性和增强脱脂。短期内，在这个项目的过程中，我们建议提供对Nutrien具有抗破碎性和绿色种子抗性的改良油菜种质，这些种质将立即用于他们的双单倍体生产系统，为加拿大提供高质量的油菜品系。从学术和科学的角度来看，这一建议将使我们对激素串扰产生新的认识，激素串扰可以调节这些农艺性状，这是迄今为止尚未探索的。从技术角度来看，该提案还将使我们能够在油菜中建立CRISPR-Cas9平台，这将有助于我们开展许多未来的研究项目，包括与Nutrien的合作项目。通过这个项目，我们将培育出对农民有直接好处的油菜籽种质，通过增强抗破碎性来提高产量，并通过较少的绿籽生产出更高等级的油菜籽。

Canola is the major cash crop in Canada which contributes ~ 26.7 billion dollars annually to the Canadian economy. Canadian canola, particularly in Western Canada is consistently exposed to unfavorable weather conditions such as drought and untimely frost that results in increased early shattering of pods and increased green seed content in canola seeds. We have recently identified the molecular pathway involving the transcription factor, Abscisic acid insensitive 3 (ABI3), that is responsible for protecting canola against frost-induced green seeds. We now have evidence that overexpression of this pathway in canola can improve shatter tolerance and confer degreening of canola seeds even after frost. Through this proposal, in partnership with NUTRIEN, we aim to achieve improved shatter tolerance and enhanced degreening in canola through exploiting multiple approaches including a non-GM approach. In the short-term, during the course of this project, we propose to deliver modified canola germplasm that are both shatter tolerant and green seed resistant to Nutrien, which will be immediately used in their double haploid production system to deliver high quality canola lines for use in Canada. From an academic and scientific perspective, this proposal will allow us generate new knowledge on hormonal cross-talk which can mediate these agronomic traits, which has not been explored thus far. From a technological standpoint, this proposal will also allow us to establish the CRISPR-Cas9 platform in canola which will help us with a number of future research projects including collaborative projects with Nutrien. Through this project, we will generate canola germplasms that will have immediate benefit to farmers by generating increased yield due to enhanced shatter tolerance, and also by producing higher grade canola with less green seed count.