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Front Genet 2021 29;12:655885. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

School of Life Science, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China.

The contamination of soils with cadmium (Cd) has become a serious environmental issue that needs to be addressed. Elucidating the mechanisms underlying Cd accumulation may facilitate the development of plants that accumulate both high and low amounts of Cd. In this study, a combination of phenotypic, physiological, and comparative transcriptomic analyses was performed to investigate the effects of different Cd concentrations (0, 5, 10, 30, 50 mg/kg) on L. Read More

BMC Genomics 2021 Apr 12;22(1):258. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

College of Horticulture, Vegetable Genetics and Breeding Laboratory, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 West Changjiang Road, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China.

Background: Leaf color mutants are the ideal materials to explore the pathways of chlorophyll (Chl) metabolism, chloroplast development, and photosynthesis system. In this study, a spontaneous yellow-green leaf wucai (Brassica campestris L.) mutant "WY16-13" was identified, which exhibited yellow-green leaf color during its entire growth period. Read More

Planta 2021 Apr 11;253(5):96. Epub 2021 Apr 11.

Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture, 12# Zhongguancun Nandajie Street, Beijing, 100081, China.

Main Conclusion: Comparative morphological, transcriptomic and phytohormone analyses reveal a defence network leading to PCD involved in cabbage hybrid lethality. Hybrid lethality (HL) plays an essential role in the stability of a population by blocking gene exchange between species, but the molecular mechanism remains largely undetermined. In this study, we performed phenotype, transcriptome and plant hormone analyses of HL in cabbage. Read More

Genes Genomics 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.

Background: In Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), clade IIb lateral organ boundary domain (LBD) 37, 38, and 39 proteins negatively regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis and affect nitrogen responses.

Objective: To investigate the possible role of LBD genes in anthocyanin accumulations among green and purple cabbages (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), we determined sequence variations and expression levels of cabbage homologs of Arabidopsis LBD37, 38, and 39. Read More

Plant Dis 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Beijing 100097Beijing , China, 100097;

Bacterial soft rot is an important disease of Chinese cabbage ( L. ssp. ) in China and many other countries. Read More

Plant Dis 2021 Apr 6. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

NARO Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center, Agro-environmental Research Division, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan;

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) is one of the important vegetables in Japan. In the summer of 2019, some cabbages with soft rot were found in commercial fields in Hokkaido, the northern island in Japan. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Mar 29;22(7). Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Key Laboratory of Saline-alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration (Northeast Forestry University), Ministry of Education, Harbin 150040, China.

In 'Tsuda' turnip, the swollen root peel accumulates anthocyanin pigments in a light-dependent manner, but the mechanism is unclear. Here, mutant which accumulated extremely low levels of anthocyanin after light exposure was identified. Segregation analysis showed that the anthocyanin-deficient phenotype was controlled by a single recessive gene. Read More

Environ Pollut 2021 Mar 24;281:116968. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

College of Natural Resources & Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address:

To explore the performance of Streptomyces pactum (Act12) alone (A) and jointly with sulfur (SA) in the phytoextraction practice of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (Cd and Zn), as well as their effects on soil chemical properties and microbial community composition, this paper selected potherb mustard (Brassica juncea, Coss.) as the test plant to assess the feedback of soil-plant ecosystems. Metal uptake values in lone Act12 treatments were higher than that of Act12 + sulfur treatments, and showed dose dependent with Act12 due to the higher biomass production. Read More

Mol Genet Genomics 2021 Apr 2. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Department of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110 007, India.

Key Message: Extensive regulatory divergence during development, abiotic stress and ABA regime observed amongst promoter homologs and homeologs of MIR319 from Brassica juncea. Gene duplication followed by sub-functionalization, neo-functionalization, and pseudogenization are routes to functional and adaptive diversification. The influence of polyploidy on protein-coding genes is well investigated but little is known about their impact on transcriptional regulation of MIRNA gene family. Read More

Bioinformatics 2021 Mar 28. Epub 2021 Mar 28.

Systems Biology and Mathematical Modeling Group, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.

Motivation: Genomic selection (GS) is currently deemed the most effective approach to speed up breeding of agricultural varieties. It has been recognized that consideration of multiple traits in GS can improve accuracy of prediction for traits of low heritability. However, since GS forgoes statistical testing with the idea of improving predictions, it does not facilitate mechanistic understanding of the contribution of particular single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Mar;118(12)

Laboratory of Plant Virology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, 840-8502 Saga, Japan;

Plant pathogens have agricultural impacts on a global scale and resolving the timing and route of their spread can aid crop protection and inform control strategies. However, the evolutionary and phylogeographic history of plant pathogens in Eurasia remains largely unknown because of the difficulties in sampling across such a large landmass. Here, we show that turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV), a significant pathogen of brassica crops, spread from west to east across Eurasia from about the 17th century CE. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2021 Mar 13;180:14-27. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops in China, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan 410128, China; Oil Crops Research, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan 410128, China; Hunan Branch of National Oilseed Crops Improvement Center, Changsha, Hunan 410128, China. Electronic address:

Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) are members of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and the primary partners of phytochromes (PHY) in light signaling. PIFs interact with the P forms of phytochrome to play an important role in the pathways of response to light and temperature in plants. In this study, 30, 12, and 16 potential PIF genes were identified in Brassica napus, Brassica rapa, Brassica oleracea, respectively, which could be divided into three subgroups. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2021 May 6;214:112113. Epub 2021 Mar 6.

Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2896/2, 616 69 Brno, Czech Republic.

The main purpose of this work is to thoroughly describe the implementation protocol of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) method in the plant analysis. Numerous feasibility studies and recent progress in instrumentation and trends in chemical analysis make LIBS an established method in plant bioimaging. In this work, we present an easy and straightforward phytotoxicity case study with a focus on LIBS method. Read More

Theor Appl Genet 2021 Mar 6. Epub 2021 Mar 6.

Collaborative Innovation Center of Grain and Oil Crops in South China, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China.

Key Message: Regional association analysis of 50 re-sequenced Chinese semi-winter rapeseed accessions in combination with co-expression analysis reveal candidate genes affecting oil accumulation in Brassica napus. One of the breeding goals in rapeseed production is to enhance the seed oil content to cater to the increased demand for vegetable oils due to a growing global population. To investigate the genetic basis of variation in seed oil content, we used 60 K Brassica Infinium SNP array along with phenotype data of 203 Chinese semi-winter rapeseed accessions to perform a genome-wide analysis of haplotype blocks associated with the oil content. Read More

Foods 2021 Feb 15;10(2). Epub 2021 Feb 15.

Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56126 Pisa, Italy.

Microgreens are the seedlings of herbs and vegetables which are harvested at the development stage of their two cotyledonary leaves, or sometimes at the emergence of their rudimentary first pair of true leaves. They are functional foods, the consumption of which is steadily increasing due to their high nutritional value. The species of the Brassicaceae family are good sources of bioactive compounds, with a favorable nutritional profile. Read More

Hortic Res 2021 Mar 1;8(1):39. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Beijing Vegetable Research Center (BVRC), Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (BAAFS), Beijing, 100097, China.

Heterosis is a complex phenomenon in which hybrids show better phenotypic characteristics than their parents do. Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. spp. Read More

BMC Plant Biol 2021 Feb 26;21(1):117. Epub 2021 Feb 26.

College of Biology, Hunan Hybrid Rape Engineering and Technology Research Center, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.

Background: Plant height is an important plant characteristic closely related to yield performance of many crops. Reasonable reduction of plant height of crops is beneficial for improving yield and enhancing lodging resistance.

Results: In the present study, we described the Brassica napus dwarf mutant bnd2 that was isolated using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 4;12:573634. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Institute of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

strain PS3, a phototrophic bacterium, was originally isolated from a paddy field located in Taipei city, Taiwan, and showed positive effects on the growth of leafy vegetables. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism of the beneficial effects exerted by PS3 on plants. An ineffective strain, YSC3, isolated from a paddy field located in Yilan County, was used as the negative control for comparative analyses. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Feb 19;11(1):4278. Epub 2021 Feb 19.

Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 141004, Punjab, India.

Timely transition to flowering, maturity and plant height are important for agronomic adaptation and productivity of Indian mustard (B. juncea), which is a major edible oilseed crop of low input ecologies in Indian subcontinent. Breeding manipulation for these traits is difficult because of the involvement of multiple interacting genetic and environmental factors. Read More

Plant Physiol 2021 Feb 4. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Laboratory of Germplasm Innovation and Molecular Breeding, Institute of Vegetable Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.

Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) in the Brassicaceae family possesses many excellent agronomic traits. Here, the high-quality genome sequence of B. carinata is reported. Read More

Mol Biol Evol 2021 Feb 15. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Agronomy; Northwest A&F University; Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100; China.

Polyploidization is a major driving force in plant evolution. Allopolyploidization, involving hybridization and genome doubling, can cause extensive transcriptome reprogramming which confers allopolyploids higher evolutionary potential than their diploid progenitors. To date, little is known about the interplay between hybridization and genome doubling in transcriptome reprogramming. Read More

Plant Physiol 2021 Feb 12. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.

Meiotic recombination increases genetic diversity and manipulation of its frequency and distribution holds great promise in crop breeding. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FANCM (a homolog of mammalian Fanconi anemia complementation group M) suppresses recombination and its function seems conserved in other species including the rosids Brassica spp. and pea (Pisum sativum), and the monocot rice (Oryza sativa). Read More

Plant Cell Physiol 2021 Feb 11. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, North-10, West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810 Japan.

Boron (B) is an essential trace element in plants, and borate crosslinking of pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) in cell walls is required for normal cell growth. High concentrations of B are toxic to cells. Therefore, plants need to control B transport to respond to B conditions in the environment. Read More

Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 2021 May;35(9):e9064

Institute IWAR, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, Darmstadt, Hessen, DE, 64287, Germany.

Rationale: Gas chromatographic analyses for vegetable oils require transesterification, which generally involves multiple steps, mainly to generate fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). A quick method based on acid-catalyzed transesterification using 2,2-dimethoxypropane (DMP) enables the conversion in one step, in a single reactor. For compound-specific stable carbon and hydrogen isotope analyses (C- and H-CSIA) of individual fatty acids (FAs) in oil, the verification of this one-step method has not yet been reported. Read More

Plant Pathol J 2021 Feb;37(1):1-23

Institute of Plant Analysis Technology Development, The Saeron Co., Suwon 16648, Korea.

Resistance to diseases caused by turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) in crop species of the family has been studied extensively, especially in members of the genus . The variation in response observed on resistant and susceptible plants inoculated with different isolates of TuMV is due to a combination of the variation in the plant resistome and the variation in the virus genome. Here, we review the breadth of this variation, both at the level of variation in TuMV sequences, with one eye towards the phylogeny and evolution of the virus, and another eye towards the nature of the various responses observed in susceptible vs. Read More

Chin Med 2021 Jan 28;16(1):15. Epub 2021 Jan 28.

Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.

Background: Hereditary ataxia (HA) represents a group of genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative diseases caused by dysfunction of the cerebellum or disruption of the connection between the cerebellum and other areas of the central nervous system. Phenotypic manifestation of HA includes unsteadiness of stance and gait, dysarthria, nystagmus, dysmetria and complaints of clumsiness. There are no specific treatments for HA. Read More

Mol Genet Genomics 2021 Mar 19;296(2):391-408. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology, and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.

Soil salinity negatively impacts rapeseed (Brassica napus) crop production. In particular, high soil salinity is known to hinder seedling growth and establishment. Identifying natural genetic variation for high salt tolerance in Brassica napus seedlings is an effective way to breed for improved productivity under salt stress. Read More

BMC Plant Biol 2021 Jan 18;21(1):47. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

Molecular Genetics and Genomics Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.

Background: The nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) genes are important for plant development and disease resistance. Although genome-wide studies of NBS-encoding genes have been performed in several species, the evolution, structure, expression, and function of these genes remain unknown in radish (Raphanus sativus L.). Read More

New Phytol 2021 04;230(1):372-386

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.

Many crops are polyploid or have a polyploid ancestry. Recent phylogenetic analyses have found that polyploidy often preceded the domestication of crop plants. One explanation for this observation is that increased genetic diversity following polyploidy may have been important during the strong artificial selection that occurs during domestication. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2021 Jan 12;21(2). Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Istituto di Fisica Applicata "Nello Carrara"-CNR, Via Madonna del Piano, 10-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.

The correct fertilization of vegetable crops is commonly determined on the basis of soil and plant costly destructive analyses, demanding more sustainable non-invasive optical detection. Here, we tested the ability of the combined transmittance/fluorescence leaf clip Dualex device for determining the nitrogen (N) status of cabbage plants. Fully developed leaves from plants grown under different N rates of 0; 100; 200; 300 kg N ha in 2018 and 2019 were measured in the field by the Dualex sensor twice a year in July and October. Read More