On January 6, Hubei Province held a Science and Technology Innovation Conference to honor the 2024 annual award-winning scientific achievements. The research project "Regulatory Mechanisms of High Oil Content in Rapeseed and Molecular Breeding", led by professor Wei Hua from the Rapeseed Molecular Improvement Theory and Technology Innovation Team at Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (OCRI, CAAS), was awarded the First Prize of Hubei Provincial Natural Science Award.

Researchers explained that increasing the oil content of rapeseed varieties is a crucial approach to enhancing oilseed productivity and safeguarding edible oil supply security. However, due to the polygenic regulation of oil content in rapeseed and its high susceptibility to environmental influences, cloning oil content regulatory genes via traditional mapping methods has been challenging. Meanwhile, existing studies on oil content have been confined to embryo oil synthesis, overlooking the effects of maternal regulation and environmental factors. These limitations have resulted in a restricted number of regulatory genes identified, hampering the progress of high-oil-content improvement in rapeseed.

To address these challenges, the research team systematically elucidated the maternal regulatory networks and mechanisms governing rapeseed oil content from perspectives including cytoplasmic effects, cross-talk among tissues/organs and plant-environment interactions. Their work pioneered new avenues for seed trait research, identified novel genes regulating oil content and pinpointed genetic variants associated with oil accumulation. As a result, they developed a rapeseed line with a record-breaking oil content of 65.2%, along with two high-oil varieties exceeding 51% oil content. These achievements have been widely promoted and applied in Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, and other provinces.