Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Canola is Canada's most important oilseed crop, contributing more than $15 billion to the Canadian economy and representing a leading source of revenue for Canadian crop producers. Much of the value of canola is derived from its seed oil, which is synthesized by successive enzymatic reactions during seed development. Canola seed oil is in increasing demand around the world for both food and non-food applications; thus, increasing the seed oil content of canola would be a tremendous advantage for Canada's oilseed industry. Previously, our laboratory has found that the seed oil content of canola can be increased by biotechnological manipulation; however, conventional methods for improving oil-synthesizing enzymes are time-consuming, labour intensive, and subject to a number of difficult technical challenges. In the proposed project, we will apply a technique known as directed-evolution to increase the activity of oil synthesizing enzymes, as a first step toward developing canola lines with increased seed oil content. Directed-evolution differs from other approaches because it allows for more rapid generation of improved enzymes. Coupled with our unique high-throughput screening system, this approach will allow us to accelerate progress toward the production of elite high oil-yielding canola varieties.