Brassica Seed Improvement Using Genomics Tools

Genomics is revolutionising the speed with which biological information can be accumulated thanks to the use of high throughput molecular and bioinformatics technologies. The complete DNA sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome is helping plant biologists to unravel the remarkable “machinery” of how plants grow and develop. This article describes a genomic research project focusing on the study of seed development and composition of Brassica species. Because of the close phylogenetic relationship between Arabidopsis and Brassica species, scientists are taking advantage of the DNA sequence of Arabidopsis to improve our knowledge of Brassica seed development and composition. In addition, others genomics tools described briefly in this article are also employed within the canola genomic project. It is expected that the knowledge acquired in this project will facilitate the development of new canola varieties with improved agronomical and nutritional traits.