
Blackleg is the most serious fungal disease of oilseed Brassicas, in particular B. However, canola production is often devastated by blackleg disease, caused by the virulent fungal pathogen, Leptosphaeria maculans ( Hayward, 2012 ). As of 2009, canola was the third largest source of vegetable oil and oil extraction meal worldwide, with 12.1 million metric tonnes of oil produced ( Freidt and Snowdon, 2009 ). oleracea (CC genome, 2 n = 18), generating an amphidiploid genome AACC (2 n = 4x = 38). Brassica napus is the evolutionary result of an interspecific hybridization between B. napus (canola/rapeseed/oilseed rape), Brassica rapa (Chinese cabbage/turnip rape), Brassica oleracea (including broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower), Brassica juncea (Indian mustard), Brassica nigra (black mustard) and Brassica carinata (Ethiopian mustard).

The Brassica genus includes many important vegetable and oilseed crops, with six cultivated Brassica species: B. Introduction Brassica napus is a member of the large and agronomically important Brassicaceae family, which consists of approximately 340 genera and 3350 species. Manoli, Sahana Stiller, Jiri Raman, Rosy Raman, Harsh Edwards, David Batley, Jacqueline Tollenaere, Reece Hayward, Alice Dalton‐Morgan, Jessica Campbell, Emma Lee, Joanne R.M.

Identification and characterization of candidate Rlm4 blackleg resistance genes in Brassica napus using next‐generation sequencing Identification and characterization of candidate Rlm4 blackleg resistance genes in Brassica napus.
