Accessing and exploiting genes of breeding value of distant relatives of crop Brassicas

The Brassicas are an important group of crops in India yielding edible oils and many vegetables. For improving cultivated Brassicas, the wild relatives are of considerable value. The Brassica group of seed oil and vegetables comprises six cultivated species, out of which three are diploids and three are digenomic tetraploids. Brassica juncea is the major seed oil crop in India which can be improved for several traits by incorporating genes from its distant relatives. The early work in India relating to genome manipulation consisted of synthesis of B. juncea by crossing B. campestris with B. nigra, experimental resynthesis of Brassica species and non-homologous pairing and genetic exchange at the interspecific level. The alloploid species B. napus and B. carinata have not been successful in India due to agrometereological limitations. However, synthetic forms of B. napus have been produced which have a desirable maturity period with good yield potential. Also, through non-homologous pairing, pod shatter resistant B. napus has been obtained, B. napus ordinarily suffers from pod shattering. Similarly, synthetic forms of B. carinata have been derived from reciprocal crosses between morphotypes of B. oleracea and B. nigra and also through protoplast fusion of B. nigra with B. oleracea. Molecular analysis has revealed that one of the somatic hybrids had a novel cytoplasmic combination which carried B. nigra mitochondrial and B. oleracea chloroplast genomes. A range of wild and weedy species related to crop Brassicas possess extensive genetic variability. Work for utilizing this variability included hybridization between wild and crop species, analysis of chromosome pairing and induction of alloploidy. Among Brassicas of interest to India, protoplast culture and regeneration has been successful in the case of B. oleracea, B. juncea, B. nigra and B. carinata (cultivated species) and Eruca sativa and Diplotaxis muralis (related wild species). Polyethylene glycol mediated protoplast fusion has been the most commonly used method in India for producing somatic hybrids involving Brassicas. The eight somatic hybrids produced and studied showed that in the majority of cases the fusions led to symmetric hybrids combining the complete genomes of the donor species. For developing suitable male sterile lines, B. juncea, B. campestris and B. napus nuclei have been combined with the cytoplasm of six wild species and stable male steriles have been developed. Protoplast fusion methodology has been used extensively for improving these CMS by manipulating cytoplasmic organelles, including production of new combinations of cp and mt.