The Innovation Program of Oil Crops Genomics & Disease Resistance Improvement is one of 11 programs at Oil Crops Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In recent ten years, we have 38 to 46 people working on four interconnected areas, polyploid genome evolution, breeding by genome design, Brassica napus disease resistance, and their application to integrated disease control.

1. Polyploid Genome Evolution. Almost all higher plants experienced one or more cycles of whole genome duplications (WGD). However, why recurrent WGDs occur and how diploidization after polyploidization links to biodiversity and speciation are unclear. We use the family Brassicaceae plants as a model to address the questions by comparing sequence variation of individual genomes with different age WGDs and population genomics of Arabidopsis and Brassica species. To this end, we have completed de novo genome assembling of a dozen of B. napus accessions and constructed a consensus pangenome of Brassica genus, part of which were in collaboration with other research groups in the world. We also generated population phenome, metabolome, transcriptome and spliceome of a B. napus oilseed rape diverse accession panel.
2. Breeding by Genome Design (BGD). The BGD objective is to conduct both fore- and back-ground selection in B. napus, not only for expected traits, but also more preferentially for shortening breeding period and designing elite cultivars. We developed a large association population and multiple bi-parental segregation populations, and by integrating multi-omics data of thousands of B. napus accessions, we mapped thousand loci controlling important traits and some of regulatory networks of traits-genes. Meanwhile, we have been investigating genome evolution of a large number of accessions and pedigrees. These together enable us to conduct BGD.
3. Brassica Disease Resistance. With an aim to breeding disease resistance varieties, we conduct studies on gene mapping, cloning and molecular mechanisms of disease resistance in B. napus. Currently we are mainly working on three major diseases in Brassica or oilseed crops: molecular mechanisms of broad-spectrum resistance conferred by a dominant and two recessive genes and breeding for sustainable resistant Brassica varieties against parasitic pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae causing destructive clubroot; QTL and genes conferring resistance to necrotrophic pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causing devastating tissue rot, its co-evolution with flowering time, and breeding for resistance and earliness varieties; and gene mapping and mechanism of broad-spectrum resistance to Xanthomonas campestris causing black rot in Brassica crops, and its application to breeding.
4. Green and Sustainable integrated Control of Oilseed Crop Diseases. In the integrated control, we use resistant varieties as a major measure and incorporate chemical pesticide by developing cost-saving and higher efficient spray technology (i.e. remote drone) for S. sclerotiorum disease control; for clubroot control, we aim to combine broad-spectrum resistance variety with crop rotation management.