b'One of Chawlas stand- varieties and the clubroot pathogen, empowering growers out projects harnesses thewith targeted solutions. Theyve shattered scientific barriers by transformative power ofsequencing the first telomere-to-telomere genome of the club-CRISPR-Cas9 technology toroot pathogen, a monumental leap forward in understanding its enhance shattering tolerance,inner workings.a trait critical for harvestBut its impact extends beyond the laboratory. The lab has efficiency. This groundbreak- uncovered alarming instances of insecticide resistance in leaf-ing work not only earnedhoppers, sounding the alarm for more sustainable pest manage-his student, Rajbir Kaur, thement practices. prestigious Canadian PlantHarmeet Singh Chawla uses Breeding Innovation (CPBI)bioinformatics to design resilientBarley, Oat, and TriticaleScholarship in 2024, but alsocrops, including canola. Making Oats Tastier holds the promise, he says, ofAAFC Ottawademocratizing access to shat-ter-tolerant varieties, which is currently the purview of the private sector.But Chawlas ambitions extend far beyond shattering tolerance. Armed with signif-icant funding, hes embark-ing on a quest to tackle verticillium stripe resistanceMohamed Youssef with CPBI in canola, employing cutting- Scholar Rajbir Kaur work to bolster edge qPCR technology forshattering tolerance in canola at the field resistance assessment. University of Manitoba.The breeding team at AAFC Ottawa with Andrew Goldstein, AAFC Making Canola More SustainableLaval University associate assistant deputy minister, Science and Technology. From left: Matthew Hayes, Wubishet Bekele, Bao-Luo Ma, Brad DeHaan, Nicholas Tinker, Goldstein, Mehri Hadinezhad, Talia Baker, Weikai Yan, Yuanhong Chen, Alex Quesnel.AAFCs oat breeding and genomics program in Ottawa is pio-neering advancements in oat cuisine, pushing boundaries with improved DNA testing for hexaploid oats, facilitating precise early-stage selection in breeding and faster variety introductions to market. By refining genotyping processes and reducing costs, the team now analyzes up to 10,000 samples annually, selecting lines beneficial to Canadian producers and millers. Collaborating closely with AAFC oat breeders, theyve compared genomic and visual selection for yield and quality, resulting in the release of a new cultivar and several others Edel Prez-Lpez and others from Laval University recently hosted staffunder registration trials across key Canadian regions. Theyre from BASF (Godfrey Chong and Jeff Mansiere). BASF is Lavals partner in a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Allianceapplying genomics to select parent oat lines tailored to specific project advancing the understanding of the clubroot pathogen.growing conditions, rapidly enhancing traits like freezing toler-ance. To aid Canadian breeding companies, they offer training The EdeLab Sustainable Plant Protection Group isnt justin genomics-assisted breeding. studying insects, phytoplasmas, and the clubroot pathogenGlobally engaged, theyve contributed to seminal papers onits forging a path towards a more resilient and sustainableoat genomes and are developing the first oat haplotype data-canola industry. base, enabling wider access to oat genomic information.Since its inception in 2020, the program has secured nearlyOat cultivars developed by Weikai Yan have become highly $5 million in funding from provincial, federal, and privateregarded and widely adopted in key oat-growing regions like sources.Ontario and Quebec. Hes emerged as a leading authority in The lab, led by Edel Prez-Lpez, pioneered a groundbreak- plant breeding, solidifying his position as one of the most-cited ing phenotyping system, forging vital links between canolaplant breeders globally.JULY 2024 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA 7'