Scientific name: Brassica napus
Common name(s): rapeseed, oilseed rape
Name as shown in Phylogenes: rapeseed
Ploidy: tetraploid
Description:
Rapeseed is a widely cultivated crop grown for its oil-rich seed. Rapeseed is the third-largest source of vegetable oil. It is a member of the Brassicaceae family that includes a number of other important crops such as cabbage, mustards and broccoli, and is a relative of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
Rapeseed is a domesticated tetraploid. It has undergone intensive breeding to optimize seed oil content and composition, decrease undesirable erucic acid and glucosinolates, optimize flowering behavior, and improve pathogen resistance. Study the rapeseed genome can provide insights into allopolyploid evolution and its relationship with crop domestication and improvement.
Reference(s):
- Chalhoub B, et al. Early allopolyploid evolution in the post-Neolithic Brassica napus oilseed genome. Science. 2014 Aug 22;345(6199):950-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1253435.
Genome Database(s):
