International Journal of Molecular Evolution and Biodiversity, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 84-98 http://ecoevopublisher.com/index.php/ijmeb 84 Research Insight Open Access Drought Tolerance in Rapeseed: Genetic Mechanisms and Breeding Strategies ShiyingYu Institute of Life Science, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: shiying.yu@jicat.org International Journal of Molecular Evolution and Biodiversity, 2025, Vol.15, No.2 doi: 10.5376/ijmeb.2025.15.0008 Received: 07 Feb., 2025 Accepted: 12 Mar., 2025 Published: 25 Mar., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Yu, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Yu S.Y., 2025, Drought tolerance in rapeseed: genetic mechanisms and breeding strategies, International Journal of Molecular Evolution and Biodiversity, 15(2): 84-98 (doi: 10.5376/ijmeb.2025.15.0008) Abstract Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important oil crop worldwide, and its yield stability is often severely affected by drought stress. This study analyzed the key role of regulatory factors such as BnA.JAZ5 and BnaA6.RGA in the ABA signaling pathway, which regulate the expression of downstream genes and mediate the response to drought stress. Studies have shown that the activation or inhibition of these genes affects the plant's ability to adapt to adversity, reflecting its important position in the molecular regulatory network. At the physiological level, drought-tolerant varieties show a series of adaptive characteristics: not only can they maintain a high level of antioxidant enzyme activity and chlorophyll content, but they can also accumulate osmotic regulatory substances including proline and soluble sugars, thereby alleviating the adverse effects of water deficit. This physiological regulation mechanism enhances its ability to survive and grow in drought environments. With the rapid development of molecular biology technology, the analysis of drought resistance mechanisms is becoming more efficient and in-depth. Genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) combined with precise gene editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 provides a powerful means for the rapid identification and utilization of key drought-resistant genes. This study provides a reference for integrating traditional breeding and molecular design technology to cultivate new drought-resistant varieties, especially in improving water acquisition efficiency and regulating physiological balance. Keywords Rapeseed (Brassica napus); Drought tolerance; ABA signaling; Genetic regulation; Enzymatic activity; Marker-assisted selection; Transcriptomics; Sustainable breeding 1 Introduction As the world's third largest source of vegetable oil, rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) continues to gain importance at the economic and strategic levels. It is not only the main source of high-quality edible oil, but its rich unsaturated fatty acids also support human health. It also has diversified development potential in feed, industry and bioenergy (Chaghakaboodi et al., 2021). Although rapeseed has strong ecological adaptability and performs well in temperate regions, drought stress is still one of the main bottlenecks restricting its yield increase (Channaoui et al., 2019). The effect of drought stress on the growth and development of rapeseed has systemic characteristics. From seed germination to maturity, water deficit significantly inhibits root development, reduces photosynthetic efficiency and disrupts metabolic balance (Dai et al., 2020). This multi-level stress response makes drought tolerance improvement a core goal of rapeseed breeding. Especially in rain-fed agricultural areas, improving the drought adaptability of varieties is of decisive significance to ensure yield stability (Chaghakaboodi et al., 2021). This study will comprehensively explore the genetic mechanisms and physiological response pathways behind rapeseed drought resistance, integrate multi-omics data resources, and systematically identify metabolic pathways and key regulatory gene networks that are significantly active under drought stress. In addition, this study will evaluate a variety of drought-resistant breeding strategies from conventional breeding to molecular marker-assisted selection, and successfully screen core germplasm materials that show strong drought resistance potential. This study provides a solid theoretical support for coping with the trend of intensified drought in the future, and provides practical guidance for promoting the transformation of rapeseed production towards sustainability and efficiency.
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