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

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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.