Molecular Genetics of Important Traits in Cruciferous Vegetables

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Technologies and Resources for Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2024) | Viewed by 10124

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: Brassica rapa; disease resistantce; genetic breeding; gene mapping; map based clone; gene function; molecular markers; marker assisted slection
Molecular Biology of Vegetable Laboratory, College of Horticulture, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Interests: Brassica rapa; secondary metabolites synthesis and regulation; Plasmodiophora brassicae-Brassica host interaction; clubroot disease resistance breeding; genetic mapping and gene cloning

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: vegetables; vernalization; resistance; plant viruses; clubroot; gene/QTL mapping; omics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cruciferous vegetables include several species cultivated worldwide and play an important role in our daily diet. Commonly known cruciferous vegetables include Chinese cabbage, pak-choi, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, kale, mustard, turnip, kohlrabi rutabaga, and so on, with extensive morphological and nutrient variation. Recent advances in genomic sequencing, molecular biological technologies, omics application, and gene editing have allowed the investigation of the genetic basis involved in various important traits such as leafy heading, leaf color, root/stem enlarging, florescence heading, metabolites biosynthesis, and so on.

In this Special Issue, we hope to focus on important agronomic traits, such as resistance, high quality, high yield, and good plant architecture in cruciferous vegetables. We cordially invite researchers to submit articles to this Special Issue with recent outstanding achievements in high-efficiency breeding technologies, germplasm innovation and evaluation, gene clone and functional analysis, molecular mechanism of important traits, and multi-omics analysis. Reviews will also be welcome with new insights and opinions.

Dr. Hui Zhang
Dr. Xiaonan Li
Dr. Shujiang Zhang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • cruciferous vegetables 
  • plant breeding 
  • molecular genetics 
  • germplasm innovation 
  • function of genes 
  • genetic mapping 
  • molecular marker 
  • marker-assisted selection 
  • genomic selection 
  • genetic engineering 
  • transcriptomics 
  • metabolomics 
  • transcription factors

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 3942 KiB  
Article
Development of Ogura CMS Fertility-Restored Interspecific Hybrids for Use in Cytoplasm Replacement of Golden-Heart Materials in Brassica rapa
by Ze Li, Guoliang Li, Fei Li, Shifan Zhang, Xiaowu Wang, Jian Wu, Rifei Sun, Shujiang Zhang and Hui Zhang
Genes 2023, 14(8), 1613; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14081613 - 11 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1699
Abstract
Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is one of the important methods for hybrid seed production in cruciferous crops. The lack of a restorer of fertility gene (Rfo) in Brassica rapa L. restricts the development and utilization of its germplasm resources. In [...] Read more.
Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is one of the important methods for hybrid seed production in cruciferous crops. The lack of a restorer of fertility gene (Rfo) in Brassica rapa L. restricts the development and utilization of its germplasm resources. In this research, Brassica napus with the Rfo gene was used to restore the fertility of Ogura CMS B. rapa with the golden heart trait. Through the distant cross of two B. rapa and four B. napus, six interspecific hybrid combinations received F1 seeds. The six combinations were different in seed receiving. By morphological observation and molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS), in F1, individuals containing the Rfo gene all appeared fertile, while those without it remained male-sterile. The pollen viability of the fertile individuals was measured, and the fertile lines of the six interspecific hybrid combinations were different (40.68–80.49%). Three individuals (containing both Rfo and GOLDEN genes) with the highest pollen vitality (≥60%) were backcrossed with fertile cytoplasmic B. rapa, resulting in a total of 800 plants. Based on the MAS, a total of 144 plants with GOLDEN but no Rfo were screened (18%). Moreover, through morphological investigation, one individual with normal cytoplasm, stable fertility but without the restoring gene Rfo, the GOLDEN gene, and morphological characteristics similar to those of B. rapa was obtained. These results increased the diversity of B. rapa germplasm and provided a new method for the utilization of CMS germplasm in Brassica crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetics of Important Traits in Cruciferous Vegetables)
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18 pages, 2837 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic Profiling of Shoot Apical Meristem Aberrations in the Multi-Main-Stem Mutant (ms) of Brassica napus L.
by Qian Wang, Na Xue, Chao Sun, Jing Tao, Chao Mi, Yi Yuan, Xiangwei Pan, Min Gui, Ronghua Long, Renzhan Ding, Shikai Li and Liangbin Lin
Genes 2023, 14(7), 1396; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14071396 - 3 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1797
Abstract
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is a globally important oilseed crop with various uses, including the consumption of its succulent stems as a seasonal vegetable, but its uniaxial branching habit limits the stem yield. Therefore, developing a multi-stem rapeseed variety has become increasingly [...] Read more.
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is a globally important oilseed crop with various uses, including the consumption of its succulent stems as a seasonal vegetable, but its uniaxial branching habit limits the stem yield. Therefore, developing a multi-stem rapeseed variety has become increasingly crucial. In this study, a natural mutant of the wild type (ZY511, Zhongyou511) with stable inheritance of the multi-stem trait (ms) was obtained, and it showed abnormal shoot apical meristem (SAM) development and an increased main stem number compared to the WT. Histological and scanning electron microscopy analyses revealed multiple SAMs in the ms mutant, whereas only a single SAM was found in the WT. Transcriptome analyses showed significant alterations in the expression of genes involved in cytokinin (CK) biosynthesis and metabolism pathways in the ms mutant. These findings provide insight into the mechanism of multi-main-stem formation in Brassica napus L. and lay a theoretical foundation for breeding multi-main-stem rapeseed vegetable varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetics of Important Traits in Cruciferous Vegetables)
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13 pages, 7694 KiB  
Article
Germplasm Enhancement and Identification of Loci Conferring Resistance against Plasmodiophora brassicae in Broccoli
by Qi Xie, Xiaochun Wei, Yumei Liu, Fengqing Han and Zhansheng Li
Genes 2022, 13(9), 1600; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13091600 - 7 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1991
Abstract
In order to breed broccoli and other Brassica materials to be highly resistant to clubroot disease, 41 Brassicaceae varieties were developed and identified between 2020 and 2021. Seven known clubroot genes were used for screening these materials. In addition, the resistant and susceptible [...] Read more.
In order to breed broccoli and other Brassica materials to be highly resistant to clubroot disease, 41 Brassicaceae varieties were developed and identified between 2020 and 2021. Seven known clubroot genes were used for screening these materials. In addition, the resistant and susceptible broccoli cultivars were designed for observing their differences in the infection process with Plasmodiophora brassicae. The results showed that 90% of total materials had carried more than two clubroot resistance genes: one material carried two disease resistance genes, four materials carried seven genes for clubroot resistance, two materials carried six genes for clubroot resistance, and in total 32% of these materials carried five genes for clubroot resistance. As a result, several new genotypes of Brassicaceae germplasm were firstly created and obtained based on distant hybridization and identification of loci conferring resistance against Plasmodiophora brassicae in this study. We found and revealed that similar infection models of Plasmodiophora brassicae occurred in susceptible and resistant cultivars of broccoli, but differences in infection efficiency of Plasmodiophora brassicae also existed in both materials. For resistant broccoli plants, a small number of conidia formed in the root hair, and only a few spores could enter the cortex without forming sporangia while sporangia could form in susceptible plants. Our study could provide critical Brassica materials for breeding resistant varieties and new insight into understanding the mechanism of plant resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetics of Important Traits in Cruciferous Vegetables)
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11 pages, 1414 KiB  
Article
Resource Screening and Inheritance Analysis of Fusarium oxysporum sp. conglutinans Race 2 Resistance in Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)
by Long Tong, Cunbao Zhao, Jinhui Liu, Limei Yang, Mu Zhuang, Yangyong Zhang, Yong Wang, Jialei Ji, Bifeng Kuang, Kelan Tang, Zhiyuan Fang, Ryo Fujimoto and Honghao Lv
Genes 2022, 13(9), 1590; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13091590 - 4 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2083
Abstract
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) Fusarium wilt (CFW) is a disease that poses a critical threat to global cabbage production. Screening for resistant resources in order to support the breeding of resistant cultivars is the most reliable approach to control this [...] Read more.
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) Fusarium wilt (CFW) is a disease that poses a critical threat to global cabbage production. Screening for resistant resources in order to support the breeding of resistant cultivars is the most reliable approach to control this disease. CFW is caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conglutinans (Foc), which consists of two physiological races (race 1 and 2). While many studies have focused on resistance screening, gene mining, and inheritance-based research associated with resistance to Foc race 1, there have been few studies specifically analyzing resistance to Foc race 2, which is a potential threat that can overcome type A resistance. Here, 166 cabbage resources collected from around the world were evaluated for the resistance to both Foc races, with 46.99% and 38.55% of these cabbage lines being resistant to Foc race 1 and race 2, respectively, whereas 33.74% and 48.80% were susceptible to these two respective races. Of these 166 analyzed cabbage lines, 114 (68.67%) were found to be more susceptible to race 2 than to race 1, and 28 of them were resistant to race 1 while susceptible to race 2, underscoring the highly aggressive nature of Foc race 2. To analyze the inheritance of Foc race 2 resistance, segregated populations derived from the resistant parental line ‘Badger Inbred 16’ and the susceptible one ‘01-20’ were analyzed with a major gene plus polygene mixed genetic model. The results of this analysis revealed Foc race 2-specific resistance to be under the control of two pairs of additive-dominant-epistatic major genes plus multiple additive-dominant-epistatic genes (model E). The heritability of these major genes in the BC1P1, BC1P2, and F2 generations were 32.14%, 72.80%, and 70.64%, respectively. In summary, these results may aid in future gene mining and breeding of novel CFW-resistant cabbage cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetics of Important Traits in Cruciferous Vegetables)
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Review

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16 pages, 816 KiB  
Review
Advances in and Perspectives on Transgenic Technology and CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing in Broccoli
by Li Zhang, Sufang Meng, Yumei Liu, Fengqing Han, Tiemin Xu, Zhiwei Zhao and Zhansheng Li
Genes 2024, 15(6), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15060668 - 23 May 2024
Viewed by 1482
Abstract
Broccoli, a popular international Brassica oleracea crop, is an important export vegetable in China. Broccoli is not only rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals but also has anticancer and antiviral activities. Recently, an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system has been established and optimized in [...] Read more.
Broccoli, a popular international Brassica oleracea crop, is an important export vegetable in China. Broccoli is not only rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals but also has anticancer and antiviral activities. Recently, an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system has been established and optimized in broccoli, and transgenic transformation and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing techniques have been applied to improve broccoli quality, postharvest shelf life, glucoraphanin accumulation, and disease and stress resistance, among other factors. The construction and application of genetic transformation technology systems have led to rapid development in broccoli worldwide, which is also good for functional gene identification of some potential traits in broccoli. This review comprehensively summarizes the progress in transgenic technology and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing for broccoli over the past four decades. Moreover, it explores the potential for future integration of digital and smart technologies into genetic transformation processes, thus demonstrating the promise of even more sophisticated and targeted crop improvements. As the field continues to evolve, these innovations are expected to play a pivotal role in the sustainable production of broccoli and the enhancement of its nutritional and health benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetics of Important Traits in Cruciferous Vegetables)
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