Brassica is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, mustard plants, or simply brassicas. Crops from this genus are sometimes called cole crops—derived from the Latin caulis, denoting the stem or stalk of a plant.
Rapeseed, also known as rape and oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae, cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains appreciable amounts of erucic acid. The term "canola" denotes a group of rapeseed cultivars that were bred to have very low levels of erucic acid and which are especially prized for use as human and animal food. Rapeseed is the third-largest source of vegetable oil and the second-largest source of protein meal in the world.
A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticulture. Their causes include a wide range of organisms as fungi, bacteria, mycoplasmas and viruses. The majority of canker-causing organisms are bound to a unique host species or genus, but a few will attack other plants. Weather and animal damage can also cause stress to the plant resulting in cankers. Other causes of cankers is pruning when the bark is wet or using un-sterilized tools.
The triangle of U is a theory about the evolution and relationships among the six most commonly known members of the plant genus Brassica. The theory states that the genomes of three ancestral diploid species of Brassica combined to create three common tetraploid vegetables and oilseed crop species. It has since been confirmed by studies of DNA and proteins.
Brassica rapa is a plant species growing in various widely cultivated forms including the turnip ; Komatsuna, napa cabbage, bomdong, bok choy, and rapini.
Venturia inaequalis is an ascomycete fungus that causes the apple scab disease.
This is a glossary of some of the terms used in phytopathology.
Pseudocercosporella capsellae is a plant pathogen infecting crucifers. P. capsellae is the causal pathogen of white leaf spot disease, which is an economically significant disease in global agriculture. P. capsellae has a significant effect on crop yields on agricultural products, such as canola seed and rapeseed. Researchers are working hard to find effective methods of controlling this plant pathogen, using cultural control, genetic resistance, and chemical control practices. Due to its rapidly changing genome, P. capsellae is a rapidly emerging plant pathogen that is beginning to spread globally and affect farmers around the world.
Leptosphaeria coniothyrium is a plant pathogen. It can be found around the world.
Zymoseptoria tritici, synonyms Septoria tritici, Mycosphaerella graminicola, is a species of filamentous fungus, an ascomycete in the family Mycosphaerellaceae. It is a wheat plant pathogen causing septoria leaf blotch that is difficult to control due to resistance to multiple fungicides. The pathogen today causes one of the most important diseases of wheat.
Verticillium longisporum, also known as Verticillium Wilt, is a fungal plant pathogen that commonly infects canola. V. longisporum can attack other brassica plants as well as woody ornamentals. A main symptom of the infected plant is wilting. In America, V. longsiporum primarily effects eudicot plants. This pathogen can be very devastating and hard to eradicate, responding only to expensive fumigation or fungal resistant plants.
Diaporthe helianthi is a fungal pathogen that causes Phomopsis stem canker of sunflowers. In sunflowers, Phomopsis helianthi is the causative agent behind stem canker. Its primary symptom is the production of large canker lesions on the stems of sunflower plants. These lesions can eventually lead to lodging and plant death. This disease has been shown to be particularly devastating in southern and eastern regions of Europe, although it can also be found in the United States and Australia. While cultural control practices are the primary method of controlling for Stem Canker, there have been a few resistant cultivars developed in regions of Europe where the disease is most severe.
Didymella bryoniae, syn. Mycosphaerella melonis, is an ascomycete fungal plant pathogen that causes gummy stem blight on the family Cucurbitaceae, which includes cantaloupe, cucumber, muskmelon and watermelon plants. The anamorph/asexual stage for this fungus is called Phoma cucurbitacearum. When this pathogen infects the fruit of cucurbits it is called black rot.
Resistance genes (R-Genes) are genes in plant genomes that convey plant disease resistance against pathogens by producing R proteins. The main class of R-genes consist of a nucleotide binding domain (NB) and a leucine rich repeat (LRR) domain(s) and are often referred to as (NB-LRR) R-genes or NLRs. Generally, the NB domain binds either ATP/ADP or GTP/GDP. The LRR domain is often involved in protein-protein interactions as well as ligand binding. NB-LRR R-genes can be further subdivided into toll interleukin 1 receptor (TIR-NB-LRR) and coiled-coil (CC-NB-LRR).
Flusilazole (DPX-H6573) is an organosilicon fungicide invented by DuPont, which is used to control fungal infections on a variety of fruit and vegetable crops. It is moderately toxic to animals and has been shown to produce birth defects in high doses.
Bot canker of oak is a disease on stems, branches and twigs of oak trees in Europe and North America. The casual agent of Bot canker of oak is the fungus Botryosphaeria corticola. Bot canker of oak causes lesions and cankers on a wide range of oaks in Europe and most recently live oaks in North America. Some infections were formerly attributed to Botryosphaeria stevensii, but most likely represent infections by Botryosphaeria corticola. Botryosphaeria corticola is distinguishable from Botryosphaeria stevensii via ITS rDNA sequencing.
Alternaria black spot of canola or grey leaf spot is an ascomycete fungal disease caused by a group of pathogens including: Alternaria brassicae, A. alternata and A. raphani. This pathogen is characterized by dark, sunken lesions of various size on all parts of the plant, including the leaves, stem, and pods. Its primary economic host is canola. In its early stages it only affects the plants slightly by reducing photosynthesis, however as the plant matures it can cause damage to the seeds and more, reducing oil yield as well.
Barbara Jane Howlett is an Australian fungal plant pathologist.
Alternaria brassicicola is a fungal necrotrophic plant pathogen that causes black spot disease on a wide range of hosts, particularly in the genus of Brassica, including a number of economically important crops such as cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, oilseeds, broccoli and canola. Although mainly known as a significant plant pathogen, it also contributes to various respiratory allergic conditions such as asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis. Despite the presence of mating genes, no sexual reproductive stage has been reported for this fungus. In terms of geography, it is most likely to be found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, but also in places with high rain and humidity such as Poland. It has also been found in Taiwan and Israel. Its main mode of propagation is vegetative. The resulting conidia reside in the soil, air and water. These spores are extremely resilient and can overwinter on crop debris and overwintering herbaceous plants.
Isobel Parkin is a Canadian research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She is one of the world's premier canola scientists and her area of expertise focuses on brassica genomics, comparative genome organization, global gene expression analysis, and abiotic stress responses. She is well known for her work on an international project on the genetics of oil seeds, in particular the mapping and sequencing of the canola oil genome. She Co-lead the Canadian Canola Genome Sequence (CanSeq) team that successfully deciphered the canola genome and developed a high-quality genome sequence.
