Characterization of transcription factor genes related to cold tolerance in Brassica napus

Brassica napus is the third most important oilseed crop in the world; however, in Korea, it is greatly affected by cold stress, limiting seed growth and production. Plants have developed specific stress responses that are generally divided into three categories: cold-stress signaling, transcriptional/post-transcriptional regulation, and stress-response mechanisms. Large numbers of functional and regulatory proteins are involved in these processes when triggered by cold stress. Here, our objective was to investigate the different genetic factors involved in the cold-stress responses of B. napus. Consequently, we treated the Korean B. napus cultivar Naehan at the 4-week stage in cold chambers under different conditions, and RNA and cDNA were obtained. An in silico analysis included 80 cold-responsive genes downloaded from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. Expression levels were assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and 14 cold-triggered genes were identified under cold-stress conditions. The most significant genes encoded zinc-finger proteins (33.7%), followed by MYB transcription factors (7.5%). In the future, we will select genes appropriate for improving the cold tolerance of B. napus.