Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Rapeseed contain antinutritional factors which greatly reduce the quality of rapeseed meal as a food and feed source. Through biochemical and molecular analysis, a rapeseed EMS-mutation population was examined to uncover useful genetic variation for future breeding programs. After performing HPLC analysis, this study identified several lines with statistically significant reduced levels of sinapine compared to the untreated control. Spectrophotometric analysis of phytic acid, found levels that greatly exceeded previously reported levels of phytic acid, underlining the importance of sufficient defatting during the extraction process. After performing molecular analysis of the target genes BnX.SGT.a and Bn.REF1, involved in the biosynthesis of sinapine, a silent mutation was detected. No other mutations were observed, highlighting the complexity of detecting genetic mutations in polyploid genomes. Future research should focus on identifying which genetic changes that are responsible for the reduced sinapine levels, as well as perform growth trials to examine the phenotypical expression of the EMS-mutation lines examined in this study.