Plant & Animal Genomes XV Conference

January 13-17, 2007
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Bridging From A. thaliana To Brassica - Examples For Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis Genes

Daniela Holtgraewe¹ , Bettina Kah¹ , Rashmi Prasad¹ , Jose A.A. Quitzau² , Thomas Rosleff-Soerensen¹ , Martin Sagasser¹ , Jens Stoye² , Bernd Weisshaar¹

¹  Institute of Genome Research at Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany

²  Institute of Bioinformatics at Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany

Genome sequencing is nowadays the preferred initial step to asking molecular biology questions about an organism, but only few organisms have been completely sequenced yet. Plant genomes can be vastly complicated due to large genome sizes, repeat sequences and polyploidy. However, even in the absence of a complete genome sequence, partial genomic sequence data and EST information are highly valuable. In addition, data from model species like Arabidopsis thaliana can be used for "translational" research on evolutionary related plants.
The tetraploid rapeseed (Brassica napus) is the most important oil crop in Europe. However, the use of rapeseed as a good protein source is limited by high content of anti-nutritive flavonoids in seeds, and little is known about the genes that control the flavonoid composition in the seed coat of B. napus. Understanding flavonoid biosynthesis would help breeding for rapeseed with reduced seed favonoid content and better protein quality. In A. thaliana, a model species that is related to the Brassicaceae, the function of several of the involved genes has been established. The identification of rapeseed genes homologous to pathway-genes from A. thaliana followed by functional analyses that confirm the sequence-based identification is an option towards knowledge-based breeding of better rapeseed varieties. This process also involves the generation of molecular markers, and we attempt to understand and classify the repetitive elements in Brassica species that interfere with SNP marker development.