Research Objective

• To discover new clubroot-resistant (CR) genes from plant sources (B. rapa, B. oleracea, and B. nigra) to develop markers for marker-assisted breeding*
• To investigate how the different CR-resistant genes fight against clubroot (the mechanisms they use)
• To re-develop the elite B. napus canola lines and B. carinata canola germplasm using several levels and combinations of different resistant genes

* Marker assisted breeding - when there are genetic markers intentionally included in the plant's DNA that tag genes the researcher is looking for

Project Description

There has been an escalation in clubroot in western Canada since 2018, which has sparked interest in growing clubroot-resistant varieties of canola. This project was intent on discovering new resistance sources (through genes) to stay ahead of the developing disease. It is important to find these new resistance sources because clubroot is a disease that constantly changes and adapts to overcome resistant lines. Newly identified genes can provide new mechanisms of resistance or work in tandem with other genes to greatly improve resistance, but they need to be identified in other plant sources and included in current canola lines. The key result of this study was that seven clubroot-resistance genes were found and included in three new clubroot-resistant lines that went into canola co-op trials. This was a big step to improve the sustainability of canola production as clubroot continues to increase across the Prairies.