Effectiveness of Resistance Genes Transferred from Pea (Pisum sativum) to Canola (Brassica napus) Against Sclerotinia Stem Rot (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum)

Sclerotinia stem rot caused by Scelrotinia sclerotiorum is one of the devastating diseases of colza (canola) worldwide. Less information is available about the resistance to this disease. Effectiveness of three disease related genes originated from pea and transferred to colza against Sclerotinia was investigated in this study using three Westar cv. transgenes PR10.1, Chitinase, and DRR206. The research was carried out in two experiments. Experiment one tried to transfer the three transgenes to four commercial cultivars Apollo, Sentry, OAC Triton and MillenniUM 03 in order to examine the effects of different genetic backgrounds on disease response. This was accomplished by crossing the commercial cultivars and the transgenic lines followed by repeated backcrosses with the commercial cultivars. In experiment two the idea of pyramiding the three transgenes two-by-two was tested. A regular cross between Westar transgenic lines was done for different transgene combinations. Three different tests: stem test, petiole inoculation technique and detached leaf assay were used for indoor disease screening. The Based on the results of disease screening, in experiment one, the best disease reduction was observed in PR10.1 in Sentry and Apollo combinations. In experiment two, PR10.1 × DRR206 combination showed the best average. Overally, PR10.1 had the best yield in decreasing the diseases. The promising lines mentioned above can be tested in field trials leading to their registration and commercialization.