Reconstruction of allopolyploid Brassicas through non-homologous recombination: Introgression of resistance to pod shatter in Brassica napus

Abstract

Pod shattering of rapeseed (Brassica napus) causes serious yield loss. Genetic resistance to shattering has been introgressed into B. napus from B. juncea. This followed from allosyndetic pairing between chromosomes of B and C genomes in the interspecific F1 hybrid, B. juncea × B. napus (2n = 37, AABC). The reconstituted B. napus plant showed regular meiosis with 19 bivalents and had pollen and seed fertility of 84 and 23% respectively. An approach is suggested for achieving introgression from monogenomic diploids to digenomic allopolyploids that exploits non-homologous recombination. © 1990, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.