Boas Pucker:
Detecting genomic regions that determine seed quality of Brassica napus through mapping-by-sequencing (Invited Talk)

Boas Pucker studied at the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf and at Bielefeld University. In 2019, he received a doctoral degree from the Faculty of Biology at Bielefeld University. The focus of his work was on plant genomics and bioinformatics. After graduation, he continued his plant genomics research at the Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec) at Bielefeld University and at the Ruhr-University Bochum. During a research stay at the Department of Plant Sciences in Cambridge (UK), he investigated the mutual exclusion of two pigments, anthocyanins and betalains, in the Caryophyllales. Since October 2021, he is a professor at TU Braunschweig working on plant biotechnology and bioinformatics.

Brassica napus (rapeseed) is an important oil crop in Germany and also a valuable source of domestic plant protein. Rapeseed protein is characterized by an excellent amino acid composition and a high nutritional value. There is potential for a broader utilization of this protein also for human consumption. Glucosinolate (GSL) levels, seed oil content (SOC), and seed protein content (SPC) are three complex traits controlled by numerous genes with possibly additive and epistatic effects. Further reduction of GSL levels in seed would facilitate the usage of rapeseed as a protein source for human nutrition. SOC and SPC show a negative correlation and are also influenced by environmental conditions. To identify genomic loci that contribute to these traits, we applied mapping-by-sequencing (MBS) on a segregating F2 population. Plants of this population were phenotyped, and DNA was extracted from individuals with the most extreme phenotypes for sequencing of contrasting pools. MBS revealed 30 genomic regions associated with the GSL level and 15 genomic regions associated with SOC/SPC. The GSL associated genomic regions harbor close homologs of Arabidopsis thaliana genes that were previously reported to encode enzymes and transcription factors involved in the GSL biosynthesis. Genes encoding enzymes of the protein degradation are located in the regions associated with SOC/SPC. Pool-specific sequence variants with detrimental effects in these candidate genes might explain the corresponding phenotypes.

Hanna Marie Schilbert¹, Boas Pucker^1,2, David Ries¹, Prisca Viehöver¹, Katrin Beckmann³, Amine Abbadi³, Frank Wolter³, Zeljko Micic⁴, Bernd Weisshaar¹ and Daniela Holtgräwe¹

• 1 CeBiTec & Department of Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
  
• 2 Institute of Plant Biology & BRICS, TU Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
  
• 3 NPZ Innovation GmbH, Hohenlieth, Germany
  
• 4 Deutsche Saatveredelung AG, Lippstadt, Germany