Epigenetic Regulation and Molecular Mechanisms in Brassica Crop Improvement

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 March 2026 | Viewed by 252

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe 6578501, Japan
Interests: epigenetics; hybrid vigor; heterosis; vernalization; Brassica
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The genus Brassica includes a range of economically significant crops, such as vegetables (e.g., cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, Chinese cabbage, and kale), oilseeds (canola, rapeseed), and condiments (mustard). Recent advancements in sequencing technologies have enabled researchers to identify genetic loci and causative genes associated with agronomically important traits in Brassica crops, offering new opportunities for molecular breeding and crop improvement.

In addition to genetic studies, epigenetics has emerged as a critical area of research in plant biology. Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, and non-coding RNAs, play essential roles in regulating gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence. In Brassica crops, these epigenetic changes have significant implications for key agricultural traits, including growth regulation and phenotypic diversity. Moreover, epigenetic modifications are involved in crucial processes such as flowering time and biotic and abiotic resilience, which directly influence crop productivity and quality.

This Special Issue focuses on the latest developments in epigenetic research in Brassica crops, with an emphasis on their application in crop improvement. We invite submissions that explore the molecular mechanisms underlying biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, heterosis, flowering, and breeding in Brassica crops. We also encourage submissions that integrate epigenomics with other omics data, such as transcriptomics, proteomics, phenomics, and metabolomics, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex molecular networks driving crop improvement.

Dr. Ryo Fujimoto
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • abiotic stress
  • allopolyploidy
  • biotic stress
  • DNA methylation
  • defense response
  • disease resistance
  • epi-allele
  • epigenetics
  • epigenome
  • flowering time
  • heterosis
  • histone modification
  • non-coding RNA
  • reproductive development
  • self-incompatibility
  • small RNA
  • transposon
  • transcriptomics
  • vernalization

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

19 pages, 788 KiB  
Review
Advances in Genetic Diversity of Germplasm Resources, Origin and Evolution of Turnip Rape (Brassica rapa L.)
by Xiaoming Lu, Tianyu Zhang, Yuanqiang Ma, Chunyang Han, Wenxin Yang, Yuanyuan Pu, Li Ma, Junyan Wu, Gang Yang, Wangtian Wang, Tingting Fan, Lijun Liu and Wancang Sun
Plants 2025, 14(15), 2311; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152311 - 26 Jul 2025
Viewed by 121
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
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