Physiological Differences Between Yellow-Seeded and Black-Seeded Rapeseeds （Brassica napus L.）with Different Testa Characteristics During Artificial Ageing

Yellow-seeded rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is a new kind of breeding resources with yellow color, increased oil and protein content and less unwanted crude fiber content due to the thinner and transparent testa compared with traditional black or brown-seeded rapeseed. To analyze the longevity of the yellow-seeded rapeseed during storage, the physiological differences between the yellow and black-seeded near-isogenic lines were studied by artificial ageing method. The testa rate, anthocyanin content and melanin content of yellow-seeded rapeseeds decreased by 20.1, 25.2, and 80.4% respectively than black-seeded rapeseed. During artificial ageing, the yellow-seeded rapeseed showed significantly different effect of ageing compared with the black-seeded, as demonstrated by faster deterioration with lower germination percentage, seed vigour index, reducing sugar and soluble protein contents than the black-seeded, as well as a drastic increase in electrical conductivity, malnodialdehyde (MDA) content and a rapid decrease in activities of antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT)and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The results suggested that the transparent testa of the yellow-seeded rapeseed lost some abilities to protect the embryo against adverse environmental conditions and thus led to a poor storability.