Objective Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is the most important Brassica crop in European agriculture, with both food and industrial applications for the oil it produces. Although the Brassica are the group of crops most closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana, their much greater genome complexity is proving a substantial barrier to the transition to Brassica, for crop improvement, of biological knowledge gain in Arabidopsis. The international research community has therefore launched a Multinational Brassica Genome Project, one aim of which is to sequence the genome of a Brassica species. The genome chosen, on the basis that it is the smallest Brassica genome, is that of Chinese cabbage, B. rapa. Although relatively little studied in Europe, this species has been the subject of extensive research in East Asia. The proposed fellow has played a central role in the development of a reference genetic map for B. rapa as part of studies genetically a locus for resistance to clubroot, which is one of the most serious diseases of Brassica crops. We propose to integrate the B. rapa genetic map produced by the proposed fellow with the public genetic map of B. napus, as produced by IMSORB (an EU INCO-DEV project with Asian partners), by cross-mapping of genetic markers on the two populations and the alignment of sequence-based markers with the Arabidopsis genome. The resource developed will thus establish an extensively integrated genetic and genome resource for the Cruciferae. We will use the integrated Cruciferae maps to develop new, targeted, genetic markers, based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and will use these for fine mapping of the clubroot resistance locus. Thus this project represents an important opportunity for the EU to gain experience of the genetics and genomics of the internationally adopted model Brassica species, develop a collaboration between Japanese researchers and one of the premier European research Institutes. Fields of science agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturegrains and oilseedsoilseeds Keywords Cruciferae Microsatellite (SSR) linkage map molecular marker synteny analysis Programme(s) FP6-MOBILITY - Human resources and Mobility in the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006 Topic(s) MOBILITY-2.3 - Marie Curie Incoming International Fellowships (IIF) Call for proposal FP6-2004-MOBILITY-7 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme IIF - Marie Curie actions-Incoming International Fellowships Coordinator JOHN INNES CENTRE EU contribution No data Address Norwich Research Park, Colney NORWICH United Kingdom See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data