Brassica carinata resynthesized by protoplast fusion

Current Status of the Disease-Resistant Gene(s)/QTLs, and Strategies for Improvement in Brassica juncea

Brassica juncea is a major oilseed crop in tropical and subtropical countries, especially in south-east Asia like India, China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The widespread cultivation of genetically similar varieties tends to attract fungal pathogens which cause heavy yield losses in the absence of resistant sources. The conventional disease management techniques are often expensive, have limited efficacy, and cause additional harm to the environment. A substantial approach is to identify and use of resistance sources within the Brassica hosts and other non-hosts to ensure sustainable oilseed crop production. In the present review, we discuss six major fungal pathogens of B. juncea: Sclerotinia stem rot (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), Alternaria blight (Alternaria brassicae), White rust (Albugo candida), Downy mildew (Hyaloperonospora parasitica), Powdery mildew (Erysiphe cruciferarum), and Blackleg (Leptoshaeria maculans). From discussing studies on pathogen prevalence in B. juncea, the review then focuses on highlighting the resistance sources and quantitative trait loci/gene identified so far from Brassicaceae and non-filial sources against these fungal pathogens. The problems in the identification of resistance sources for B. juncea concerning genome complexity in host subpopulation and pathotypes were addressed. Emphasis has been laid on more elaborate and coordinated research to identify and deploy R genes, robust techniques, and research materials. Examples of fully characterized genes conferring resistance have been discussed that can be transformed into B. juncea using advanced genomics tools. Lastly, effective strategies for B. juncea improvement through introgression of novel R genes, development of pre-breeding resistant lines, characterization of pathotypes, and defense-related secondary metabolites have been provided suggesting the plan for the development of resistant B. juncea.

Genetic and Epigenetic Alterations of Brassica nigra Introgression Lines from Somatic Hybridization: A Resource for Cauliflower Improvement

Broad phenotypic variations were obtained previously in derivatives from the asymmetric somatic hybridization of cauliflower "Korso" (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, 2n = 18, CC genome) and black mustard "G1/1" (Brassica nigra, 2n = 16, BB genome). However, the mechanisms underlying these variations were unknown. In this study, 28 putative introgression lines (ILs) were pre-selected according to a series of morphological (leaf shape and color, plant height and branching, curd features, and flower traits) and physiological (black rot/club root resistance) characters. Multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that these plants contained 18 chromosomes derived from "Korso." Molecular marker (65 simple sequence repeats and 77 amplified fragment length polymorphisms) analysis identified the presence of "G1/1" DNA segments (average 7.5%). Additionally, DNA profiling revealed many genetic and epigenetic differences among the ILs, including sequence alterations, deletions, and variation in patterns of cytosine methylation. The frequency of fragments lost (5.1%) was higher than presence of novel bands (1.4%), and the presence of fragments specific to Brassica carinata (BBCC 2n = 34) were common (average 15.5%). Methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism analysis indicated that methylation changes were common and that hypermethylation (12.4%) was more frequent than hypomethylation (4.8%). Our results suggested that asymmetric somatic hybridization and alien DNA introgression induced genetic and epigenetic alterations. Thus, these ILs represent an important, novel germplasm resource for cauliflower improvement that can be mined for diverse traits of interest to breeders and researchers.

Production and characterization of interspecific somatic hybrids between Brassica oleracea var. botrytis and B. nigra and their progenies for the selection of advanced pre-breeding materials

Somatic hybridization is a potential method for gene transfer from wild relatives to cultivated crops that can overcome sexual incompatibilities of two distantly related species. In this study, interspecific asymmetric somatic hybrids of Brassica oleracea var. botrytis (cauliflower) and Brassica nigra (black mustard) were obtained by protoplast fusion and their backcrossed (BC(3)) and selfed (S(3)) offspring were analyzed. Cytological analysis showed that the B. nigra chromosomes were successively eliminated in the backcrosses with cauliflower. The fertility of the hybrid progenies was quite different due to the asynchronous and abnormal chromosome behavior of pollen mother cells (PMC) during meiosis. Analysis of sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) showed that all of these hybrids mainly had the DNA banding pattern from the two parents with some alterations. Genetically, the selfed generations were closer to B. nigra, while the backcrossed generations were closer to the cauliflower parent. Analysis of cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) showed that all somatic hybrids in this study contained chloroplast (cp) DNA of the donor parent black mustard, while mitochondrial (mt) DNA showed evidence of recombination and variations in the regions analyzed. Furthermore, three BC(3) plants (originated from somatic hybrids 3, 4, 10) with 2-8 B. nigra-derived chromosomes shown by genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) displayed a more cauliflower-like morphology and high resistance to black-rot. These plants were obtained as bridge materials for further analysis and breeding.