Genetic engineering of improved nitrogen use efficiency in rice by the tissue-specific expression of alanine aminotransferase.

Summary Nitrogen is quantitatively the most essential nutrient for plants and a major factor limiting crop productivity. One of the critical steps limiting the efficient use of nitrogen is the ability of plants to acquire it from applied fertilizer. Therefore, the development of crop plants that absorb and use nitrogen more efficiently has been a long-term goal of agricultural research.

Towards positional cloning in Brassica napus: generation and analysis of doubled haploid B. rapa possessing the B. napus pol CMS and Rfp nuclear restorer gene.

The Polima (pol) system of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and its fertility restorer gene Rfp are used in hybrid rapeseed production in Brassica napus. To facilitate map-based cloning of the Rfp gene, we have successfully transferred the pol cytoplasm and Rfp from the amphidiploid B. napus to the diploid species B.