A systems genetics study of seed quality and seedling vigour in Brassica rapa

Summary Seed is the basic and most critical input for seed propagated agricultural crops: seed quality and seedling vigour determine plant establishment, growth and development in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Seed quality and seedling vigour are mainly determined by the interactions of the following three components: genetic background, physiological quality and the environmental conditions during seed set, seed ripening, storage, seed germination and early seedling development. In the past, many efforts have been made to improve seed germination and seedling vigour by optimizing physiological and environmental factors (non-genetic factors); however, the paradigm has shifted to investigate genetic factors and to use these to improve crop performance by plant breeding. The aim of this thesis is to unravel the genetics of seed germination and seedling vigour under different conditions in Brassica rapa, using a systems genetics approach. Studies in many crop species have reported that seed germination and seedling vigour traits are governed by many genes and are strongly affected by environmental conditions. As salinity stress is becoming one of the most important abiotic stresses affecting crop growth and yield, we studied the genetics of seed germination and seedling vigour under neutral and salt stress conditions. For a number of crops, it has been established that larger seed size and higher seed weight indicate more reserve food and contribute positively to seedling establishment. Therefore, our hypothesis for this thesis is that transcriptional regulation of genes during seed development determines the composition and content of seed reserves, and that these seed reserves play a major role in seed germination and seedling growth, especially at the heterotrophic stage under optimal and sub-optimal conditions. B. rapa is an extremely diverse Brassica species which includes, besides many diverse leafy vegetable types and turnips, also oilseed crops. Bra