France
April 1, 2010
OFFER
Researchers have produced, by artificial mutagenesis applied on canola seeds, a cleistogamous mutant which plants present normal development and reproduction. This mutant has complete flowers which do not open during anthesis. After a normal development, flowers remain closed till after the fertilization. This cleistogamous trait is controlled by a single gene, called Clg1, and can be transferred in populations by breeding methods (pedigree breeding, haplodiploidisation or back-crosses). It can be utilized for autogamous reproduction (fixation and pure line breeding, seed production, canola production for industrial utilization) or in the context of transgenic crops in order to reduce risks of cross-pollination.
Canola and oilseed rape pollen can be transported over long-distances by wind or pollinator insects. This phenomenon makes cross-fertilization between different canola/oilseed rape fields difficult to avoid when one wants to select and produce pure lines in a controlled way. In order to avoid such cross-fertilization, numerous techniques have been developed in various species (for instance manual, mechanical, genetic or chemical emasculation of plants) but they are often not satisfactory. They are indeed too expensive, not realistic to be applied or too toxic to be safely used in crucifers. There is therefore a need to develop systems for pollination control to assist in the production of pure lines.
Researchers from INRA - AgroCampus Ouest joint research unit 118 led by Dr Michel Renard have produced, by artificial mutagenesis applied on canola seeds, a cleistogamous mutant which plants present normal development and reproduction. This mutant has complete flowers which do not open during anthesis. After a normal development, flowers remain closed till after the fertilization. This cleistogamous trait is controlled by a single gene, called Clg1, and can be transferred in populations by breeding methods (pedigree breeding, haplodiploidisation or back-crosses). It can be utilized for autogamous reproduction (fixation and pure line breeding, seed production, canola production for industrial utilization) or in the context of transgenic crops in order to reduce risks of cross-pollination.
In the framework of the Génoplante programme, additional efforts were spent to identify, clone and characterize the gene Clg1. Particularly, researchers have demonstrated that a single mutation in Clg1 is responsible for cleistogamous trait in canola. Moreover, they have also demonstrated that expression in canola of the polypeptide encoded by the Clg1 mutant gene results in adult plants exhibiting closed flowers at floral maturity, the stability of this trait depending on the genetic background.
POTENTIAL INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
These mutants and the ability to obtain similar ones provide breeders of crucifer species with several novel applications and advantages, notably the reduction of cross-pollination, the pure line breeding, the seed production, etc.
Moreover, the recent results also provide novel methods for pollination control to assist in the production of pure lines of transgenic Brassicaceae, particularly canola and oilseed rape, including:
- Genotypic detection of the Clg1 mutant gene
- Early selection of plants having the Clg1 mutant gene
- Production of transgenic plants transformed by the Clg1 mutant gene resulting in cleistogamous plants exhibiting closed flowers at floral maturity
Heading : Agronomy, Plant Biotechnology, Plant Genetic and Improvment
Intellectual property : Patent
Patent application number :(EP1037522) and (WO2009/092925).
Laboratory/Team :
UMR 118 Amélioration des Plantes et Biotechnologies Végétales
Centre INRA de Rennes
35653 Le Rheu - France.
Scientific leader :
Régine DELOURME
Business manager :
Claire LEMONTEY
INRA Transfert
28 rue du Docteur Finlay
75015 Paris - France
Phone: +33 (0) 1 55 35 26 38
Fax: +33 (0) 1 55 35 26 46
Email: claire.lemontey@paris.inra.fr
Topics
Species
