Identification of Phosphorous Efficient Germplasm in Oilseed Rape

Plant species and genotypes within one species may significantly differ in phosphorus (P) uptake and utilization when they suffer from P starvation. The objective of this research was to screen P-efficient germplasm of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) and analyze the possible mechanism responsible for P efficiency by two-steps screening experiments and validation of P efficiency. Phosphorus efficiency coefficient at seedling stage, namely, ratio of shoot dry weight under low P to that under adequate P (PECS) of 194 oilseed rape cultivars varied from 0.050 to 0.62 and was significantly related with shoot dry weight under low P level (r = 0.859**, P < 0.01). Oilseed rape cultivar 'Eyou Changjia' presented the highest P efficiency coefficient in each growth stage and had the highest seed yield at low P, whereas oilseed rape cultivar 'B104-2' was the most sensitive to low P stress among the 12 candidate cultivars obtained from the two-steps screening experiments. Under low P condition in validation experiments of soil and solution cultures, 'Eyou Changjia' could produce much more dry matter and acquire more P than 'B104-2.' Moreover, P efficient coefficient obtained from the pot experiment was comparable to those from the field experiment. This might be attributed to high P uptake efficiency for 'Eyou Changjia' when it suffered from low-P stress. Comparison of results from the hydroponics with those from the pot and field experiments led to the conclusion that the P uptake efficiency in the hydroponics is highly related to that in soil culture conditions. These results show that there are large genotypic differences in response to phosphorus deficiency in oilseed rape germplasm (Brassica napus L.) and 'Eyou Changjia' is P-efficient and 'B104-2' is P-inefficient. By comparing these results further, the mechanism responsible for P efficiency was suggested to be mainly due to high P uptake efficiency by forming larger root system, and improving the ability of mobilizing and acquiring soil P in P-efficient oilseed rape under the condition of P starvation.