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Genome Prairie Oils the Canadian Drive for Better Canola

Saskatoon — poised to become the low trans-fat oil capital of the world

Much like Leduc, Alberta's self-proclaimed petroleum oil capital of Canada during the 1950s, Saskatoon appears poised for a similar appointment today as the low trans-fat oil capital of the world. If the moniker sticks it will be thanks to the little black seeds of canola, the source of the healthiest edible oil in the world and of an estimated $2.5 billion annual contribution to the prairie economy.

This powerful combination of human and economic value is why Genome Prairie currently co-funds two projects aimed at understanding how to grow canola better. With a grant of $9 million and under the direction of the renowned Dr. Wilf Keller, the 'Enhancing Canola through Genomics' project employs 41 full time scientists and 20 project investigators at various institutions throughout Saskatchewan and beyond. Its research on seeds will extend our understanding of how conventional and novel breeding can be used to enhance desirable qualities, such as higher levels of monosaturates and lower levels of saturates, by studying the factors that control the production of proteins, carbohydrates and triglycerols in the canola (Brassica) family.

"Research in seed development will lead to tangible benefits for seed producers," says Faouzi Bekkaoui, project manager. "We want to find the mechanisms that control the size of the seed which can lead to improved yields, or the factors that determine the thickness of seed coats which could improve seed processing."

Improvements can also be made by removing undesirable qualities. Phytates, for example, are anti-nutrients found in canola meal, which is the material left after pressing the seeds to extract their oil. Used to feed livestock, canola meal is less desirable than soybean meal, by comparison, because increased levels of phytates in feed reduce the livestock's ability to absorb other nutrients such as calcium.

Another ambitious aspect of this project is the sequencing of the genes expressed in the Brassica seed. "Arabidopsis thaliana was the first plant organism to have been completely sequenced," explains Bekkaoui about the lowly weed that has become the research model for much of current plant biotechnology "and interestingly, its makeup is very similar to that of Brassica, but for the total number of genes. Canola (Brassica napus) is estimated to contain between 80,000 and 120,000 genes while Arabidopsis thaliana has only 25,000."

Not surprisingly, researchers in Saskatchewan are using leading edge technologies in pursuit of their goal to sequence Brassica. Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) use a small portion of a known gene to identify unknown genes, and another technology utilizes DNA microarrays to view gene expression patterns for thousands of genes or DNA fragments at one time.¹

The newly built Canadian Light Source Synchrotron in Saskatoon is already proving to be another important research tool. The $174 million Synchrotron produces beams of light millions of times brighter than the sun and allows researchers to actually observe particles the size of an atom.² Dr. Martin Reaney, a project scientist from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is using the Synchrotron to study the storage and metabolism of metals in Arabidopsis seeds. Despite the much smaller seed, his goal is to use Arabidopsis to uncover the same mechanisms in canola. This research is aimed at producing novel varieties of canola with enhanced levels of iron and zinc for enriched nutrient diets.

'Enhancing Canola through Genomics' is a major project for canola, Bekkaoui observes. "Most plant traits such as germination, flowering and disease resistance are not controlled by a single gene," he says. "Identifying the genes responsible for expressing these traits and then understanding how they work when expressed together represents an order of complexity much higher than the work that identified the single gene used to create the herbicide tolerant canola first planted in Canada in 1996."

Another Genome Prairie initiative focuses on the genetics that enable wheat and canola plants to withstand extreme environmental conditions such as cold, heat, salinity or drought. The 'Functional Genomics of Abiotic Stress' project is led by Dr. Bill Crosby at the University of Windsor and Dr. Randy Weselake at the University of Alberta.

The $19 million project, launched in 2001, employs 70 full time scientists and 24 principal investigators from institutions in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. The fruits of this research will have very practical application with prairie farmers who commonly experience extreme growing conditions while raising their crops. "For instance, early freezing temperatures in the fall of 2004 resulted in a heavy toll on immature plants and resulted in a marked decrease in canola yield and significant loss of revenue," says Elizabeth Nanak, project manager. Low-temperature tolerance (LT) has immense potential for Canadian agriculture by extending the growing season for traditional crops in a country which has the coldest climate for crop production of any developed nation in the world.³

Based on the belief that there is more to biotech research than just developing products, Genome Canada also supports developing a better understanding of the commercial, ethical, legal and general social impact of genomics on Canadian society through its GE3LS program (Genomics: Ethics, Economics, Environment, Law and Society.) The Genome Prairie component of GE3LS, led by Dr. Edna Einsiedel at the University of Calgary, is focusing on the commercialization of genomic discoveries in both the agricultural and biomedical sectors and especially on issues where these two areas converge.⁴

This work includes collecting and analyzing information on consumer attitudes as well as providing the outcomes for use in policy debates. One example is a 2003 survey of consumer attitudes towards biotech foods done in conjunction with a larger study which included the USA and ten European countries. "Canadians, typically, tend to be middle of the road," says Jennifer Medlock, GE3LS project manager. "US consumers were more favorable towards biotech food while the Europeans were less so. Interestingly, the study also found no apparent correlation between the level of formal education and the degree of acceptance."

Other GE3LS initiatives include: surveying national public attitudes on various biotechnology applications ranging from stem cells to GM food, online polling of consumer preferences toward GM vs. non-GM food based on type and source of biotech knowledge, and using focus groups to study public attitudes towards issues such as plant molecular farming, cloning and GM food.

Genome Prairie, and by extension the research it funds, depends on Genome Canada for support. The original $375 million Genome Canada initiative, bolstered by a federal government pledge for an additional $60 million in 2004, has helped turn Canada into a global leader in plant biotechnology and genetic research. A dramatic result of this kind of support is the little known fact that the SARS virus was first sequenced by Canadian researchers from the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC), a projected co-funded by Genome Canada.⁵

For more information:

• Genome Canada Website
• Genome Prairie Website
• Enhancing Canola through Genomics Project Website
• Functional Genomics of Abiotic Stress Project Website
• Genome Alberta GE3LS Project Website

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