Next Article in Journal
Impact of Snow on Vegetation Green-Up on the Mongolian Plateau
Previous Article in Journal
Metabarcoding Analysis Reveals Microbial Diversity and Potential Soilborne Pathogens Associated with Almond Dieback and Decline
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Plants
Volume 14
Issue 15
10.3390/plants14152311
plants-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Review

Advances in Genetic Diversity of Germplasm Resources, Origin and Evolution of Turnip Rape (Brassica rapa L.)

by
Xiaoming Lu
1,2,
Tianyu Zhang
1,2,
Yuanqiang Ma
1,2,
Chunyang Han
1,2,
Wenxin Yang
1,2,
Yuanyuan Pu
1,2,
Li Ma
2,
Junyan Wu
1,2,
Gang Yang
1,2,
Wangtian Wang
3,
Tingting Fan
1,2,
Lijun Liu
2,* and
Wancang Sun
1,*
1
College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
3
College of Life Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2025, 14(15), 2311; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152311 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 6 June 2025 / Revised: 17 July 2025 / Accepted: 24 July 2025 / Published: 26 July 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epigenetic Regulation and Molecular Mechanisms in Brassica Crop Improvement)
Versions Notes

Abstract

During a prolonged domestication and environmental selection, Brassica rapa has formed diverse morphological types during a cultivation process of up to 8000 years, such as root-type turnips (Brassica rapa var. rapa), leaf-type Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. pekinensis), oil-type rapeseed (Brassica rapa L.), and other rich types. China is one of the origins of Brassica rapa L., which is spread all over the east, west, south, and north of China. Studying its origin and evolution holds significant importance for unraveling the cultivation history of Chinese oilseed crops, intraspecific evolutionary relationships, and the utilization value of genetic resources. This article summarizes the cultivation history, evolution, classification research progress, and germplasm resource diversity of Brassica rapa var. oleifera in China. Combining karyotype analysis, genomic information, and wild relatives of Brassica rapa var. oleifera discovered on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, it is proposed that Brassica rapa var. oleifera has the characteristic of polycentric origin, and Gansu Province in China is one of the earliest regions for its cultivation. Brassica rapa var. oleifera, originating from the Mediterranean region, was diffused to the East Asian continent through two independent transmission paths (one via the Turkish Plateau and the other via Central Asia and Siberia). Analyzing the genetic diversity characteristics and evolutionary trajectories of these two transmission paths lays a foundation for clarifying the origin and evolutionary process of Brassica rapa var. oleifera and accelerating the breeding of Brassica rapa var. oleifera in China. Despite existing research on the origin of Brassica rapa L., the domestication process of this species remains unresolved. Future studies will employ whole-genome resequencing to address this fundamental question.
Keywords: Brassica rapa L.; morphological variation; origin and evolution; karyotype analysis Brassica rapa L.; morphological variation; origin and evolution; karyotype analysis

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Lu, X.; Zhang, T.; Ma, Y.; Han, C.; Yang, W.; Pu, Y.; Ma, L.; Wu, J.; Yang, G.; Wang, W.; et al. Advances in Genetic Diversity of Germplasm Resources, Origin and Evolution of Turnip Rape (Brassica rapa L.). Plants 2025, 14, 2311. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152311

AMA Style

Lu X, Zhang T, Ma Y, Han C, Yang W, Pu Y, Ma L, Wu J, Yang G, Wang W, et al. Advances in Genetic Diversity of Germplasm Resources, Origin and Evolution of Turnip Rape (Brassica rapa L.). Plants. 2025; 14(15):2311. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152311

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lu, Xiaoming, Tianyu Zhang, Yuanqiang Ma, Chunyang Han, Wenxin Yang, Yuanyuan Pu, Li Ma, Junyan Wu, Gang Yang, Wangtian Wang, and et al. 2025. "Advances in Genetic Diversity of Germplasm Resources, Origin and Evolution of Turnip Rape (Brassica rapa L.)" Plants 14, no. 15: 2311. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152311

APA Style

Lu, X., Zhang, T., Ma, Y., Han, C., Yang, W., Pu, Y., Ma, L., Wu, J., Yang, G., Wang, W., Fan, T., Liu, L., & Sun, W. (2025). Advances in Genetic Diversity of Germplasm Resources, Origin and Evolution of Turnip Rape (Brassica rapa L.). Plants, 14(15), 2311. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152311

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop