Thesis (M.S.)--Pennsylvania State University, 2008. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. Thesis advisor: Gregory W. Roth.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 1999? / Bibliography: leaves 132-159.

Sclerotinia stem rot caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is an economic disease affecting canola (Brassica napus L). Since expression of sclerotinia stem rot symptoms shows much variability and the trait is quantitative in nature, reliable phenotypic evaluation methods for characterization are needed. The three major objectives of this dissertation were to: i) evaluate eight different inoculation methods to discriminate between S. sclerotiorum-resistant and susceptible B. napus germplasm; ii) develop breeding lines with resistance to multiple diseases, and; iii) to identify QTL associated with resistance to sclerotinia stem rot using association mapping (AM). The eight methods evaluated were the detached leaves, detached stems, petiole inoculation (PIT), straw-inoculation, stem-piercing with toothpick, mycelial spray (MSI), petal inoculation and oxalic acid assay. MSI and PIT can better discriminate between the isolates and germplasm. Breeding lines resistance to S. sclerotiorum, Leptosphaeria maculans, and Rhizoctonia solani were developed from a cross between two moderately sclerotinia stem rot resistant plant introductions (PI). F2 seedlings were screened for sclerotinia stem rot using PIT. Surviving plants were self pollinated and their progeny screened again. This process was repeated until the F6 generation. In addition, F5 seedlings were evaluated for their reaction to R. solani and F5 and F6 seedlings for their reaction to L. maculans. Eight lines were identified as moderately resistance to these three pathogens. The genomes of a group of 278 B. napus plant introductions were screened using Diversity Array Technology to detect QTL associated with resistance to sclerotinia stem rot. The population was classified into nine sub-populations and 32 significant markers each explaining between 1.5 and 4.6% of the variation were identified. Blastn search indicates that similar nucleotide sequences are distributed throughout the genomes of B. oleracea, B. rapa, and A. thaliana. Results of these studies suggest the PIT and MSI are reliable screening tools to evaluate materials for resistance to sclerotinia stem rot; materials identified as resistant to S. sclerotiorum were also moderately resistant against R. solani and L. maculans and could be valuable sources for canola improvement programs; and AM allowed us to identify QTL associated with resistance to sclerotinia stem rot.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on Dec. 16, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science, Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

A two-component transposable element system consisting of a stabilized Activator (Acst) and a chimeric Dissociation (Ds) element has been introduced into the genome of Brassica napus. This Acst/ Ds system incorporates the use of several highly effective screenable and selectable markers. One of these markers is the maize Lc gene, a transcriptional regulator of flavonoid biosynthetic genes. This substrate-independent screenable marker was tested for the first time in B. napus and I show that when overexpressed, there is augmented trichome production and a light-dependent, enhanced accumulation of anthocyanins in B. napus plants. The phenotypes are expressed under a wide range of conditions, are visually distinct, and are observed throughout plant development. When used as a visual marker for the Acst element, Lc B. napus plants were rapidly identified among F2 segregating populations. As part of my goal to develop a very efficient Acst/Ds system for use in B. napus, a conditional negative selectable marker, the E. coli codA gene, was also tested for the first time in B. napus. This was done because use of a substrate-dependent negative selectable marker can facilitate the rapid and reliable identification of stable Ds transposition events when used as a marker for the Acst T-DNA. The enzyme cytosine deaminase, encoded by the codA gene, catalyzes the deamination of the non-toxic compound 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) to the highly toxic compound 5-fluorouracil. In codA transformed B. napus seedlings, expression of cytosine deaminase results in a severe suppression of growth and this phenotype is dependent on the presence of the 5-FC substrate. Wild-type seedlings, however, lack endogenous cytosine deaminase activity and appear unaffected by the presence of 5-FC in the growth media. These results indicate that codA has the potential to be used effectively in B. napus as a substrate-dependent negative selectable marker for the Acst T-DNA. To determine if Ac transposase cou

DNA markers tightly-linked to nuclear fertility restorer genes for cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) are valuable tools for breeders and researchers working with these genes. Two different targeting approaches were used to identify markers linked to the Rfp1 restorer gene for the pol CMS of canola (Brassica napus L.): nearly isogenic line (NIL) comparison and bulked segregant analysis. These methods were equally efficient in identifying markers linked to Rfp1; combining them allowed a targeting efficiency of 100% to be achieved. The efficiency of bulked segregant analysis was found to be limited by the inadvertent occurrence of shared homozygosity at specific chromosomal regions in the bulks, in contrast with the efficiency of NIL comparison which was limited by the occurrence of residual DNA from the donor cultivar at scattered sites around the genome of the NILs. Eleven DNA markers linked to the Rfp1 gene were identified, one of which perfectly co-segregates with Rfp1. The linkage group on which Rfp1 is localized contains 17 DNA markers. Two restorer genes of the pol CMS, Rfp1 and Rfp2, and a Rfn restorer gene of the nap CMS were found to be at least tightly linked to one another and may all reside at the same locus. A fourth restorer gene, the Rfo restorer for the ogu CMS, was, however, found to be unlinked to the other restorer genes. Different restorer genes for the nap CMS were found in the lines 'Westar-Rf and 'Karat'. A linkage map of the B. napus genome containing 146 markers organized into 23 linkage groups covering a total length of 850.2 cM was constructed from a BC$ sb1$ population. This map contains 63 loci previously localized on the B. napus genome through analysis of an F$ sb2$ population. Comparative analysis indicates that the total length of the BC$ sb1$-derived map is smaller than that of the F$ sb2$-derived map, which suggests that a reduction in recombination frequency is occurring in male gametes. The preferential use of two or three probe-

Thesis (M.Ag.Sc.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 230-281).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2009. / Title from web page (viewed on Dec. 23, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.