| dc.description.abstract | Brassica napus, also known as oilseed rape or canola, belongs to the family Brassicaceae. An important characteristic of Brassicaceae is the production of specific secondary metabolites, glucosinolates. Intact glucosinolates are biologically inactive but when the plants are damaged by insect herbivory or tissue disruption, glucosinolates are hydrolysed by the enzyme myrosinase to other glucosinolate hydrolysis products that are toxic to many insects. B. napus MINELESS plants have been genetically engineered to further study the role of myrosin cells and the glucosinolate-myrosinase system against biotic and abiotic stress factors. This study examined the effect of light and temperature stress factors on wild-type and transgenic MINELESS B. napus plants by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence, pigment composition and plant metabolites. We undertook these analyses by combination of light and temperature stress factors. In addition, we examined how the interaction between light and temperature shock treatments affect B. napus wild-type and transgenic MINLESS plants. The study showed that MINELESS plants differed with wild-type for Fv/Fm after cold shock, and for plant metabolites after temperature and light stresses. Pigments were unaffected by the lack of myrosin cells in the MINELESS plants. The interaction between temperature and light gave unique responses, different from single stressor responses. | |
