Three genes encoding fatty acid desaturase 3 (fad3a, fad3b, and a novel fad3c) were cloned from f... more Three genes encoding fatty acid desaturase 3 (fad3a, fad3b, and a novel fad3c) were cloned from four flax genotypes varying in linolenic acid content. Real-time PCR was used to quantify expression levels of the three fad3 genes during seed development. High amounts of both fad3a and fad3b transcripts were observed and reached their peak levels at 20 days after anthesis, except for fad3a from SP2047 where only low level expression was observed throughout seed development. Transcript accumulation of the novel fad3c gene was at similar background levels. The fatty acid composition was analysed for all genotypes and stages of development and compared with the fad3 gene expression patterns. α-Linolenic acid gradually accumulated during seed development, while linoleic acid was transient and decreased in M5791, UGG5-5, and AC McDuff. In contrast, the linolenic acid present in the early stages of development nearly completely disappeared in SP2047, while linoleic acid steadily accumulated. fad3a of the low linolenic acid line SP2047 encoded a truncated protein caused by a premature stop codon resulting from a single point mutation, and the low level of transcript accumulation in this genotype is likely due to nonsense-mediated mRNA decay caused by the premature termination of translation as a result of this early stop codon. Although substantial amounts of transcript accumulation occurred with fad3b of SP2047 genotype, cloning of the gene revealed a mutation in the first histidine box causing an amino acid change. Heterologous expression in yeast of the SP2047 and UGG5-5 fad3b genes showed that the mutation in the histidine box in SP2047 caused the enzyme inactivity. Taken together, these results showed that fad3a and fad3b are responsible for linolenic acid accumulation in flax seeds but did not support a major role for the novel fad3c. These observations were further supported by phenotypic and genotypic assessment of a doubled haploid population. Expression patterns of fad3a and fad3b were highly correlated with linolenic acid accumulation during seed development, with the exception of fad3b in SP2047 whose lack of activity was caused by the histidine box mutation despite its transcript accumulation being similar to that of the fad3b of the other genotypes.
profiles to meet market needs in a timely manner requires clear understanding of their quantitati... more profiles to meet market needs in a timely manner requires clear understanding of their quantitative trait loci (QTl) architectures, which have received little attention to date. Association mapping is an efficient approach to identify QTl in germplasm collections. In this study, we explored the quantitative nature of seed quality traits including oil content (OIl), palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid (lIO) linolenic acid (lIn) and iodine value in a flax core collection of 390 accessions assayed with 460 microsatellite markers. The core collection was grown in a modified augmented design at two locations over 3 years and phenotypic data for all seven traits were obtained from all six environments. Significant phenotypic diversity and moderate to high heritability for each trait (0.73-0.99) were observed. Most of the candidate QTl were stable as revealed by multivariate analyses. nine candidate QTl were identified, varying from one for OIl to three for lIO and lIn. Candidate QTl for lIO and lIn co-localized with QTl previously identified in bi-parental populations and some mapped nearby genes known to be involved in the FA biosynthesis pathway. Fifty-eight percent of the QTl alleles were absent (private) in the Canadian cultivars suggesting that the core collection possesses QTl alleles potentially useful to improve seed quality traits. The candidate QTl identified herein will establish the foundation for future marker-assisted breeding in linseed.
A set of 146,611 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from 10 flax cDNA libraries. After... more A set of 146,611 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from 10 flax cDNA libraries. After assembly, a total of 11,166 contigs and 11,896 singletons were mined for the presence of putative simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and yielded 806 (3.5%) non-redundant sequences which contained 851 putative SSRs. This is equivalent to one EST-SSR per 16.5 kb of sequence. Trinucleotide motifs were the most abundant (76.9%), followed by dinucleotides (13.9%). Tetra-, penta-and hexanucleotide motifs represented \10% of the SSRs identified. A total of 83 SSR motifs were identified. Motif (TTC/GAA)n was the most abundant (10.2%) followed by (CTT/AAG)n (8.7%), (TCT/AGA)n (8.6%), (CT/AG)n (6.7%) and (TC/GA)n (5.3%). A total of 662 primer pairs were designed, of which 610 primer pairs yielded amplicons in a set of 23 flax accessions. Polymorphism between the accessions was found for 248 primer pairs which detected a total of 275 EST-SSR loci. Two to seven alleles were detected per marker. The polymorphism information content value for these markers ranged from 0.08 to 0.82 and averaged 0.35. The 635 alleles detected by the 275 polymorphic EST-SSRs were used to study the genetic relationship of 23 flax accessions. Four major clusters and two singletons were observed. Sub-clusters within the main clusters correlated with the pedigree relationships amongst accessions. The EST-SSRs developed herein represent the first large-scale development of SSR markers in flax. They have potential to be used for the development of genetic and physical maps, quantitative trait loci mapping, genetic diversity studies, association mapping and fingerprinting cultivars for example. Communicated by Y. Xue.
Natural variation occurs in the uptake and distribution of essential and nonessential trace eleme... more Natural variation occurs in the uptake and distribution of essential and nonessential trace elements among crop species and among cultivars within species. Such variation can be responsible for trace element deficiencies and toxicities, which in turn can affect the quality of food. Plant breeding can be an important tool to both increase the concentration of desirable trace elements and reduce that of potentially harmful trace elements such as cadmium (Cd). Selection programs for a low-Cd content of various crops, including durum wheat, sunflower, rice and soybean have been established and low-Cd durum wheat cultivars and sunflower hybrids have been developed. In durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var durum), low-Cd concentration is controlled by a single dominant gene. The trait is highly heritable, and incorporation of the low-Cd allele can help to reduce the average grain Cd to levels below proposed international limits.
Flax's recent popularity ... more Flax's recent popularity in human and animal foods is mostly due to its desirable FA composition. Flax is an excellent source of omega-3 FA, which have been shown to have many health benefits. To date, little is known about the genetic and environmental factors that control the FA composition of flax seeds. To elucidate some of the important genetic components, reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and real-time PCR were used to determine the expression profiles of two key FA biosynthetic genes during seed development. Plants of flax cultivar AC McDuff were grown under field conditions, and RNA was extracted from ovaries and developing bolls collected from 2 d after anthesis (DAA) to maturity. Desaturation enzymes stearoyl-ACP desaturase (SAD) and delta12 FA desaturase 2 (FAD2) were both expressed in ovaries, and their expression was differentially modulated throughout seed development. SAD was most highly expressed in ovaries. Its expression quickly decreased until 4 DAA; this was followed by a slight peak at 8 DAA, only to return to relatively low levels of expression in maturing bolls, ranging from 2.1% to 4.5% relative to the level observed in ovaries. FAD2 expression displayed a different temporal pattern. While expression of FAD2 did decrease in the early stages of seed development, expression increased starting at 8 DAA, peaking at 16 DAA, when it was 158% relative to the level observed in ovaries. FAD2, which desaturates oleic acid (18:1cisdelta9) into linoleic acid (18:2cisdelta9,12), is therefore controlled at the transcription level. To relate enzyme expression with FA profile, GC was performed on the same subsamples used for RT-PCR and real-time PCR, and proportions of palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids were determined for the same developmental stages. Although FAD2 expression increased from 8 to 16 DAA, relative changes in linoleic acid (18:2cis delta9,12) were not observed. However, linolenic acid (ALA; alpha-18:3; 18:3cisdelta9,12,15) levels increased steadily, meaning that linoleic acid (18:2cisdelta9,12) is a transient substrate converted by FAD3 as quickly as it is produced by FAD2. Phenotypes are the result of genotypes, environment, and the interaction of the two. To evaluate the environmental impact on the production of FA in flax, FA profiles were assessed in a total of four environments (two locations, two years). Warm and dry environmental conditions resulted in lower levels of PUFA 18:2cisdelta9,12 and 18:3cisdelta9,12,15, and higher levels of 18:1 cisdelta9. FAD2 expression and/or activity may therefore be affected by the environment.
Cereal Chem. 82(2):197-203 Five Canadian oat genotypes were grown at six environments in Manitoba... more Cereal Chem. 82(2):197-203 Five Canadian oat genotypes were grown at six environments in Manitoba to assess the effects of genotype, environment, and genotype- by-environment interaction on oat starch properties and end-product quality. Genotypic variation was significant for total starch, amylose con- tent, starch swelling volume (SSV), Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) pasting viscosities, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermal properties, and starch
Pinnacle is a high-yielding, white-hulled oat (Avena sativa L.) cultivar postulated to carry the ... more Pinnacle is a high-yielding, white-hulled oat (Avena sativa L.) cultivar postulated to carry the crown rust resistance combination Pc38, Pc39 and Pc68, which is highly effective against most of the present crown rust races on the Canadian prairies. It has very good resistance to loose and covered smut and good resistance to most of the prevalent races of stem rust, due to the likely presence of Pg2, Pg9 and Pg13 and moderate tolerance to barley yellow dwarf virus. Pinnacle has high test weight, high kernel weight, and very high percent plump kernels. According to its grain characteristics, including hull-to-groat ratio, protein content and oil content, Pinnacle should be acceptable for milling purposes. Pinnacle is well suited for the oat growing areas of western Canada and in particular the Black Soil Zone of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where oat crown rust is prevalent.
Date: Monday, January 14, 2013 Room: Grand Exhibit Hall Braulio J. Soto-Cerda , University of Man... more Date: Monday, January 14, 2013 Room: Grand Exhibit Hall Braulio J. Soto-Cerda , University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Scott Duguid , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Morden, MB, Canada Helen Booker , University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Gordon Rowland , University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Axel Diederichsen , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Sylvie Cloutier , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Flax is grown for its seed oil rich in alpha-linolenic acid. Oil production strongly depends on seed yield (SY), a complex trait determined by several yield components (YC). However, the genetic architecture of SY and its YC at the quantitative trait loci (QTL) level for flax breeding remains largely unknown. We utilized a core collection of 407 flax accessions capturing the breadth of the phenotypic diversity of the Plant Gene Resources Canada collection for association mapping. The core collection was assessed using...
The type 2 modified augmented design (MAD) was used to phenotype seed yield, oil content and fatt... more The type 2 modified augmented design (MAD) was used to phenotype seed yield, oil content and fatty acid compositions in a collection of 120 flax genotypes at two locations during three years. All six experiments had the same design, in which whole plots were arranged in 10 rows and 10 columns and each whole plot was split into five paralleled rectangular subplots with a control subplot in the centre of each whole plot. Two additional subplot controls were allocated at random in each of five randomly selected whole plots. Relative efficiency (RE) of adjusted versus unadjusted observations was evaluated for all six experiments. The RE was redefined as a ratio of pooled variance within both plot and subplot controls of the unadjusted values to that of the adjusted values. Two adjustment methods based on the row and column effect of plot controls (M1) and the regression of the test plots on the plot control (M3), were assessed to adjust for soil heterogeneity. The analysis of variance (...
Anther culture is considered as the most successful method of producing doubled haploid plants in... more Anther culture is considered as the most successful method of producing doubled haploid plants in flax. The efficiency of shoot regeneration from anther culture has been improved dramatically by optimizing culture temperature and callus induction medium. However, shoot elongation has become increasingly the limiting factor for further improvement of the overall efficiency of doubled haploid production. The effect of sucrose con-21
TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik, Jan 8, 2015
The combined SSR-SNP map and 20 QTL for agronomic and quality traits will assist in marker assist... more The combined SSR-SNP map and 20 QTL for agronomic and quality traits will assist in marker assisted breeding as well as map-based cloning of key genes in linseed. Flax is an important nutraceutical crop mostly because it is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant compounds. Canada is the largest producer and exporter of oilseed flax (or linseed), creating a growing need to improve crop productivity and quality. In this study, a genetic map was constructed based on selected 329 single nucleotide polymorphic markers and 362 simple sequence repeat markers using a recombinant inbred line population of 243 individuals from a cross between the Canadian varieties CDC Bethune and Macbeth. The genetic map consisted of 15 linkage groups comprising 691 markers with an average marker density of one marker every 1.9 cM. A total of 20 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified corresponding to 14 traits. Three QTL each for oleic acid and stearic acid, two QTL each for linoleic aci...
Three genes encoding fatty acid desaturase 3 (fad3a, fad3b, and a novel fad3c) were cloned from f... more Three genes encoding fatty acid desaturase 3 (fad3a, fad3b, and a novel fad3c) were cloned from four flax genotypes varying in linolenic acid content. Real-time PCR was used to quantify expression levels of the three fad3 genes during seed development. High amounts of both fad3a and fad3b transcripts were observed and reached their peak levels at 20 days after anthesis, except for fad3a from SP2047 where only low level expression was observed throughout seed development. Transcript accumulation of the novel fad3c gene was at similar background levels. The fatty acid composition was analysed for all genotypes and stages of development and compared with the fad3 gene expression patterns. α-Linolenic acid gradually accumulated during seed development, while linoleic acid was transient and decreased in M5791, UGG5-5, and AC McDuff. In contrast, the linolenic acid present in the early stages of development nearly completely disappeared in SP2047, while linoleic acid steadily accumulated. fad3a of the low linolenic acid line SP2047 encoded a truncated protein caused by a premature stop codon resulting from a single point mutation, and the low level of transcript accumulation in this genotype is likely due to nonsense-mediated mRNA decay caused by the premature termination of translation as a result of this early stop codon. Although substantial amounts of transcript accumulation occurred with fad3b of SP2047 genotype, cloning of the gene revealed a mutation in the first histidine box causing an amino acid change. Heterologous expression in yeast of the SP2047 and UGG5-5 fad3b genes showed that the mutation in the histidine box in SP2047 caused the enzyme inactivity. Taken together, these results showed that fad3a and fad3b are responsible for linolenic acid accumulation in flax seeds but did not support a major role for the novel fad3c. These observations were further supported by phenotypic and genotypic assessment of a doubled haploid population. Expression patterns of fad3a and fad3b were highly correlated with linolenic acid accumulation during seed development, with the exception of fad3b in SP2047 whose lack of activity was caused by the histidine box mutation despite its transcript accumulation being similar to that of the fad3b of the other genotypes.
profiles to meet market needs in a timely manner requires clear understanding of their quantitati... more profiles to meet market needs in a timely manner requires clear understanding of their quantitative trait loci (QTl) architectures, which have received little attention to date. Association mapping is an efficient approach to identify QTl in germplasm collections. In this study, we explored the quantitative nature of seed quality traits including oil content (OIl), palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid (lIO) linolenic acid (lIn) and iodine value in a flax core collection of 390 accessions assayed with 460 microsatellite markers. The core collection was grown in a modified augmented design at two locations over 3 years and phenotypic data for all seven traits were obtained from all six environments. Significant phenotypic diversity and moderate to high heritability for each trait (0.73-0.99) were observed. Most of the candidate QTl were stable as revealed by multivariate analyses. nine candidate QTl were identified, varying from one for OIl to three for lIO and lIn. Candidate QTl for lIO and lIn co-localized with QTl previously identified in bi-parental populations and some mapped nearby genes known to be involved in the FA biosynthesis pathway. Fifty-eight percent of the QTl alleles were absent (private) in the Canadian cultivars suggesting that the core collection possesses QTl alleles potentially useful to improve seed quality traits. The candidate QTl identified herein will establish the foundation for future marker-assisted breeding in linseed.
A set of 146,611 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from 10 flax cDNA libraries. After... more A set of 146,611 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from 10 flax cDNA libraries. After assembly, a total of 11,166 contigs and 11,896 singletons were mined for the presence of putative simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and yielded 806 (3.5%) non-redundant sequences which contained 851 putative SSRs. This is equivalent to one EST-SSR per 16.5 kb of sequence. Trinucleotide motifs were the most abundant (76.9%), followed by dinucleotides (13.9%). Tetra-, penta-and hexanucleotide motifs represented \10% of the SSRs identified. A total of 83 SSR motifs were identified. Motif (TTC/GAA)n was the most abundant (10.2%) followed by (CTT/AAG)n (8.7%), (TCT/AGA)n (8.6%), (CT/AG)n (6.7%) and (TC/GA)n (5.3%). A total of 662 primer pairs were designed, of which 610 primer pairs yielded amplicons in a set of 23 flax accessions. Polymorphism between the accessions was found for 248 primer pairs which detected a total of 275 EST-SSR loci. Two to seven alleles were detected per marker. The polymorphism information content value for these markers ranged from 0.08 to 0.82 and averaged 0.35. The 635 alleles detected by the 275 polymorphic EST-SSRs were used to study the genetic relationship of 23 flax accessions. Four major clusters and two singletons were observed. Sub-clusters within the main clusters correlated with the pedigree relationships amongst accessions. The EST-SSRs developed herein represent the first large-scale development of SSR markers in flax. They have potential to be used for the development of genetic and physical maps, quantitative trait loci mapping, genetic diversity studies, association mapping and fingerprinting cultivars for example. Communicated by Y. Xue.
Natural variation occurs in the uptake and distribution of essential and nonessential trace eleme... more Natural variation occurs in the uptake and distribution of essential and nonessential trace elements among crop species and among cultivars within species. Such variation can be responsible for trace element deficiencies and toxicities, which in turn can affect the quality of food. Plant breeding can be an important tool to both increase the concentration of desirable trace elements and reduce that of potentially harmful trace elements such as cadmium (Cd). Selection programs for a low-Cd content of various crops, including durum wheat, sunflower, rice and soybean have been established and low-Cd durum wheat cultivars and sunflower hybrids have been developed. In durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var durum), low-Cd concentration is controlled by a single dominant gene. The trait is highly heritable, and incorporation of the low-Cd allele can help to reduce the average grain Cd to levels below proposed international limits.
Flax's recent popularity ... more Flax's recent popularity in human and animal foods is mostly due to its desirable FA composition. Flax is an excellent source of omega-3 FA, which have been shown to have many health benefits. To date, little is known about the genetic and environmental factors that control the FA composition of flax seeds. To elucidate some of the important genetic components, reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and real-time PCR were used to determine the expression profiles of two key FA biosynthetic genes during seed development. Plants of flax cultivar AC McDuff were grown under field conditions, and RNA was extracted from ovaries and developing bolls collected from 2 d after anthesis (DAA) to maturity. Desaturation enzymes stearoyl-ACP desaturase (SAD) and delta12 FA desaturase 2 (FAD2) were both expressed in ovaries, and their expression was differentially modulated throughout seed development. SAD was most highly expressed in ovaries. Its expression quickly decreased until 4 DAA; this was followed by a slight peak at 8 DAA, only to return to relatively low levels of expression in maturing bolls, ranging from 2.1% to 4.5% relative to the level observed in ovaries. FAD2 expression displayed a different temporal pattern. While expression of FAD2 did decrease in the early stages of seed development, expression increased starting at 8 DAA, peaking at 16 DAA, when it was 158% relative to the level observed in ovaries. FAD2, which desaturates oleic acid (18:1cisdelta9) into linoleic acid (18:2cisdelta9,12), is therefore controlled at the transcription level. To relate enzyme expression with FA profile, GC was performed on the same subsamples used for RT-PCR and real-time PCR, and proportions of palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids were determined for the same developmental stages. Although FAD2 expression increased from 8 to 16 DAA, relative changes in linoleic acid (18:2cis delta9,12) were not observed. However, linolenic acid (ALA; alpha-18:3; 18:3cisdelta9,12,15) levels increased steadily, meaning that linoleic acid (18:2cisdelta9,12) is a transient substrate converted by FAD3 as quickly as it is produced by FAD2. Phenotypes are the result of genotypes, environment, and the interaction of the two. To evaluate the environmental impact on the production of FA in flax, FA profiles were assessed in a total of four environments (two locations, two years). Warm and dry environmental conditions resulted in lower levels of PUFA 18:2cisdelta9,12 and 18:3cisdelta9,12,15, and higher levels of 18:1 cisdelta9. FAD2 expression and/or activity may therefore be affected by the environment.
Cereal Chem. 82(2):197-203 Five Canadian oat genotypes were grown at six environments in Manitoba... more Cereal Chem. 82(2):197-203 Five Canadian oat genotypes were grown at six environments in Manitoba to assess the effects of genotype, environment, and genotype- by-environment interaction on oat starch properties and end-product quality. Genotypic variation was significant for total starch, amylose con- tent, starch swelling volume (SSV), Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) pasting viscosities, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermal properties, and starch
Pinnacle is a high-yielding, white-hulled oat (Avena sativa L.) cultivar postulated to carry the ... more Pinnacle is a high-yielding, white-hulled oat (Avena sativa L.) cultivar postulated to carry the crown rust resistance combination Pc38, Pc39 and Pc68, which is highly effective against most of the present crown rust races on the Canadian prairies. It has very good resistance to loose and covered smut and good resistance to most of the prevalent races of stem rust, due to the likely presence of Pg2, Pg9 and Pg13 and moderate tolerance to barley yellow dwarf virus. Pinnacle has high test weight, high kernel weight, and very high percent plump kernels. According to its grain characteristics, including hull-to-groat ratio, protein content and oil content, Pinnacle should be acceptable for milling purposes. Pinnacle is well suited for the oat growing areas of western Canada and in particular the Black Soil Zone of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where oat crown rust is prevalent.
Date: Monday, January 14, 2013 Room: Grand Exhibit Hall Braulio J. Soto-Cerda , University of Man... more Date: Monday, January 14, 2013 Room: Grand Exhibit Hall Braulio J. Soto-Cerda , University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Scott Duguid , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Morden, MB, Canada Helen Booker , University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Gordon Rowland , University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Axel Diederichsen , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Sylvie Cloutier , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Flax is grown for its seed oil rich in alpha-linolenic acid. Oil production strongly depends on seed yield (SY), a complex trait determined by several yield components (YC). However, the genetic architecture of SY and its YC at the quantitative trait loci (QTL) level for flax breeding remains largely unknown. We utilized a core collection of 407 flax accessions capturing the breadth of the phenotypic diversity of the Plant Gene Resources Canada collection for association mapping. The core collection was assessed using...
The type 2 modified augmented design (MAD) was used to phenotype seed yield, oil content and fatt... more The type 2 modified augmented design (MAD) was used to phenotype seed yield, oil content and fatty acid compositions in a collection of 120 flax genotypes at two locations during three years. All six experiments had the same design, in which whole plots were arranged in 10 rows and 10 columns and each whole plot was split into five paralleled rectangular subplots with a control subplot in the centre of each whole plot. Two additional subplot controls were allocated at random in each of five randomly selected whole plots. Relative efficiency (RE) of adjusted versus unadjusted observations was evaluated for all six experiments. The RE was redefined as a ratio of pooled variance within both plot and subplot controls of the unadjusted values to that of the adjusted values. Two adjustment methods based on the row and column effect of plot controls (M1) and the regression of the test plots on the plot control (M3), were assessed to adjust for soil heterogeneity. The analysis of variance (...
Anther culture is considered as the most successful method of producing doubled haploid plants in... more Anther culture is considered as the most successful method of producing doubled haploid plants in flax. The efficiency of shoot regeneration from anther culture has been improved dramatically by optimizing culture temperature and callus induction medium. However, shoot elongation has become increasingly the limiting factor for further improvement of the overall efficiency of doubled haploid production. The effect of sucrose con-21
TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik, Jan 8, 2015
The combined SSR-SNP map and 20 QTL for agronomic and quality traits will assist in marker assist... more The combined SSR-SNP map and 20 QTL for agronomic and quality traits will assist in marker assisted breeding as well as map-based cloning of key genes in linseed. Flax is an important nutraceutical crop mostly because it is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant compounds. Canada is the largest producer and exporter of oilseed flax (or linseed), creating a growing need to improve crop productivity and quality. In this study, a genetic map was constructed based on selected 329 single nucleotide polymorphic markers and 362 simple sequence repeat markers using a recombinant inbred line population of 243 individuals from a cross between the Canadian varieties CDC Bethune and Macbeth. The genetic map consisted of 15 linkage groups comprising 691 markers with an average marker density of one marker every 1.9 cM. A total of 20 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified corresponding to 14 traits. Three QTL each for oleic acid and stearic acid, two QTL each for linoleic aci...
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