SUMMARY Brassica napus is a recent allopolyploid derived from the hybridization of Brassica rapa (ArAr) and Brassica oleracea (CoCo). Because of the high sequence similarity between the An and Cn subgenomes, it is difficult to provide an accurate landscape of the whole transcriptome of B. napus. To overcome this problem, we applied a single‐molecule long‐read isoform sequencing (Iso‐Seq) technique that can produce long reads to explore the complex transcriptome of B. napus at the isoform level. From the Iso‐Seq data, we obtained 147 698 non‐redundant isoforms, capturing 37 403 annotated genes. A total of 18.1% (14 934/82 367) of the multi‐exonic genes showed alternative splicing (AS). In addition, we identified 549 long non‐coding RNAs, the majority of which displayed tissue‐specific expression profiles, and detected 7742 annotated genes that possessed isoforms containing alternative polyadenylation sites. Moreover, 31 591 AS events located in open reading frames (ORFs) lead to potential protein isoforms by in‐frame or frameshift changes in the ORF. Illumina RNA sequencing of five tissues that were pooled for Iso‐Seq was also performed and showed that 69% of the AS events were tissue‐specific. Our data provide abundant transcriptome resources for a transcript isoform catalog of B. napus, which will facilitate genome reannotation, strengthen our understanding of the B. napus transcriptome and be applied for further functional genomic research.

Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (UBC) is a critical part of the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway and plays crucial roles in growth, development and abiotic stress response in plants. Although UBC genes have been detected in several plant species, characterization of this gene family at the whole-genome level has not been conducted in Brassica napus. In the present study, 200 putative BnUBCs were identified in B. napus, which were clustered into 18 subgroups based on phylogenetic analysis. BnUBCs within each subgroup showed relatively conserved gene architectures and motifs. Moreover, the gene expression patterns in various tissues as well as the identification of cis-acting regulatory elements in BnUBC promoters suggested further investigation of their potential functions in plant growth and development. Furthermore, three BnUBCs were predicted as candidate genes for regulating agronomic traits related to oil content and yield through association mapping. In conclusion, this study provided a wealth of information on the UBC family in B. napus and revealed their effects on oil content and yield, which will aid future functional research and genetic breeding of B. napus.