Reducing MSH4 copy number prevents meiotic crossovers between non-homologous chromosomes in Brassica napus.

In allopolyploids, correct chromosome segregation requires suppression of non-homologous crossovers while levels of homologous crossovers are ensured. To date, no mechanism able to specifically inhibit non-homologous crossovers has been described in allopolyploids other than in bread wheat. Here, we show that reducing the number of functional copies of MSH4, an essential gene for the main crossover pathway, prevents non-homologous crossovers in allotetraploid Brassica napus.

FANCM Limits Meiotic Crossovers in Brassica Crops.

Meiotic crossovers (COs) are essential for proper chromosome segregation and the reshuffling of alleles during meiosis. In WT plants, the number of COs is usually small, which limits the genetic variation that can be captured by plant breeding programs. Part of this limitation is imposed by proteins like FANCM, the inactivation of which results in a 3-fold increase in COs in .

Regulation of FATTY ACID ELONGATION1 expression in embryonic and vascular tissues of Brassica napus.

The expression of the FATTY ACID ELONGATION1 genes was characterised to provide insight into the regulation of very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) biosynthesis in Brassica napus embryos. Each of the two rapeseed homoeologous genes (Bn-FAE1.1 and Bn-FAE1.

A dominant point mutation in a RINGv E3 ubiquitin ligase homoeologous gene leads to cleistogamy in Brassica napus.

In the allopolyploid Brassica napus, we obtained a petal-closed flower mutation by ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis. Here, we report cloning and characterization of the Bn-CLG1A (CLG for cleistogamy) gene and the Bn-clg1A-1D mutant allele responsible for the cleistogamy phenotype. Bn-CLG1A encodes a RINGv E3 ubiquitin ligase that is highly conserved across eukaryotes.

Brassica orthologs from BANYULS belong to a small multigene family, which is involved in procyanidin accumulation in the seed.

As part of a research programme focused on flavonoid biosynthesis in the seed coat of Brassica napus L. (oilseed rape), orthologs of the BANYULS gene that encoded anthocyanidin reductase were cloned in B. napus as well as in the related species Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea.

The promoter of the Arabidopsis thaliana BAN gene is active in proanthocyanidin-accumulating cells of the Brassica napus seed coat.

As part of an ongoing research program dedicated to the understanding of proanthocyanidin (PA) accumulation in Brassica napus seed coat, transgenic rapeseed plants carrying a 2.3-kb fragment of the Arabidopsis thaliana BAN promoter (ProAtBAN) fused to the uidA reporter gene (GUS) were generated. Analysis of these plants revealed that ProAtBAN was activated in B.

PrBn, a major gene controlling homeologous pairing in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) haploids.

Precise control of chromosome pairing is vital for conferring meiotic, and hence reproductive, stability in sexually reproducing polyploids. Apart from the Ph1 locus of wheat that suppresses homeologous pairing, little is known about the activity of genes that contribute to the cytological diploidization of allopolyploids. In oilseed rape (Brassica napus) haploids, the amount of chromosome pairing at metaphase I (MI) of meiosis varies depending on the varieties the haploids originate from.