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The Brassica crops provide the greatest diversity of products derived from a single genus. As vegetables they deliver leaves, flowers, stems and roots that are used either fresh or in processed forms. This book covers the Occidental crops derived from B. oleracea (cole or cabbage group) and Oriental types from B. rapa (Chinese cabbage and its relatives). Both groups are of immense importance for human nutrition, containing vital vitamins and cancer preventing substances.

As a widely cultivated vegetable in China and Southeast Asia, the breeding of non-heading Chinese cabbage ( Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis Makino) is widespread; more than 400 varieties have been granted new plant variety rights (PVRs) in China. Distinctness is one of the key requirements for the granting of PVRs, and molecular markers are widely used as a robust supplementary method for similar variety selection in the distinctness test. Although many genome-wide molecular markers have been developed, they have not all been well used in variety identification and tests of distinctness of non-heading Chinese cabbage. In this study, by using 423 non-heading Chinese cabbage varieties collected from different regions of China, 287 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were screened for polymorphisms, and 23 core markers were finally selected. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values of the 23 SSR markers ranged from 0.555 to 0.911, with an average of 0.693, and the average number of alleles per marker was 13.65. Using these 23 SSR markers, 418 out of 423 varieties could be distinguished, with a discrimination rate of 99.994%. Field tests indicated that those undistinguished varieties were very similar and could be further distinguished by a few morphological characteristics. According to the clustering results, the 423 varieties could be divided into three groups: pak-choi, caitai, and tacai. The similarity coefficient between the SSR markers and morphological characteristics was moderate (0.53), and the efficiency of variety identification was significantly improved by using a combination of SSR markers and morphological characteristics.

Compared with sole nitrogen (N), the nutrition mixture of ammonium (NH 4 + ) and nitrate (NO 3 – ) is known to better improve crop yield and quality. However, the mechanism underlying this improvement remains unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the changes in nutrient solution composition, content of different N forms in plant tissues and exudates, and expression of plasma membrane (PM) H + -ATPase genes ( HAs ) under different NH 4 + /NO 3 – ratios (0/100, 10/90, 25/75, 50/50 as control, T1, T2, and T3) in flowering Chinese cabbage. We observed that compared with the control, T1 and T2 increased the economical yield of flowering Chinese cabbage by 1.26- and 1.54-fold, respectively, whereas T3 significantly reduced plant yield. Compared with the control, T1–T3 significantly reduced the NO 3 – content and increased the NH 4 + , amino acid, and soluble protein contents of flowering Chinese cabbage to varying extents. T2 significantly increased the N use efficiency (NUE), whereas T3 significantly decreased it to only being 70.25% of that of the control. Owing to the difference in N absorption and utilization among seedlings, the pH value of the nutrient solution differed under different NH 4 + /NO 3 – ratios. At harvest, the pH value of T2 was 5.8; in the control and T1, it was approximately 8.0, and in T3 it was only 3.6. We speculated that appropriate NH 4 + /NO 3 – ratios may improve N absorption and assimilation and thus promote the growth of flowering Chinese cabbage, owing to the suitable pH value. On the contrary, addition of excessive NH 4 + may induce rhizosphere acidification and ammonia toxicity, causing plant growth inhibition. We further analyzed the transcription of PM H + -ATPase genes ( HAs ). HA1 and HA7 transcription in roots was significantly down-regulated by the addition of the mixture of NH 4 + and NO 3 – , whereas the transcription of HA2 , HA9 in roots and HA7 , HA8 , and HA10 in leaves was sharply up-regulated by the addition of the mixture; the transcription of HA3 was mainly enhanced by the highest ratio of NH 4 + /NO 3 – . Our results provide valuable information about the effects of treatments with different NH 4 + /NO 3 – ratios on plant growth and N uptake and utilization.

Accurate application of pesticides at the seedling stage is the key to effective control of Chinese cabbage pests and diseases, which necessitates rapid and accurate detection of the seedlings. However, the similarity between the characteristics of Chinese cabbage seedlings and some weeds is a great challenge for accurate detection. This study introduces an enhanced detection method for Chinese cabbage seedlings, employing a modified version of YOLO11n, termed YOLO11-CGB. The YOLO11n framework has been augmented by integrating a Convolutional Attention Module (CBAM) into its backbone network. This module focuses on the distinctive features of Chinese cabbage seedlings. Additionally, a simplified Bidirectional Feature Pyramid Network (BiFPN) is incorporated into the neck network to bolster feature fusion efficiency. This synergy between CBAM and BiFPN markedly elevates the model's accuracy in identifying Chinese cabbage seedlings, particularly for distant subjects in wide-angle imagery. To mitigate the increased computational load from these enhancements, the network's convolution module has been replaced with a more efficient GhostConv. This change, in conjunction with the simplified neck network, effectively reduces the model's size and computational requirements. The model's outputs are visualized using a heat map, and an Average Temperature Weight (ATW) metric is introduced to quantify the heat map's effectiveness. Comparative analysis reveals that YOLO11-CGB outperforms established object detection models like Faster R-CNN, YOLOv4, YOLOv5, YOLOv8 and the original YOLO11 in detecting Chinese cabbage seedlings across varied heights, angles, and complex settings. The model achieves precision, recall, and mean Average Precision of 94.7%, 93.0%, and 97.0%, respectively, significantly reducing false negatives and false positives. With a file size of 3.2 MB, 4.1 GFLOPs, and a frame rate of 143 FPS, YOLO11-CGB model is designed to meet the operational demands of edge devices, offering a robust solution for precision spraying technology in agriculture.

Changes in gene expression in plant hybrids are closely related to heterosis. Currently, few reports on key genes that promote yield advantage formation in Chinese cabbage hybrids exist. We conducted a comparative transcriptomic analysis between a Chinese cabbage hybrid (weichunbaiNo.3) and its parents using RNA sequencing, and the differentially expressed genes between the Chinese cabbage hybrid and its parents were confirmed in the rosette and the mature stages. The expression patterns of the differentially expressed genes were examined. The weighted gene coexpression network analysis and virus-induced gene silencing technology were employed to assess the key gene function in yield advantage formation of the Chinese cabbage hybrid. In total, 3652 and 2768 genes were differentially expressed between the Chinese cabbage hybrid and its parents in the rosette and mature stages, respectively. These differentially expressed genes among the hybrid and its parents presented diverse expression patterns, and the expression levels of the most differentially expressed genes in the hybrid were higher than one of the parents but lower than another. The horticultural characteristics showed that weichunbai No. 3 hybrid had a greater yield advantage compared with parents. A vital hub gene related to yield, BraA09g035160.3C (an gene), was identified by weighted gene coexpression network analysis. Through virus-induced gene silencing technology, the expression level of the BraA09g035160.3C gene in the hybrid was dramatically decreased, which slowed hybrid growth. BraA09g035160.3C gene could play an important regulatory role in the yield advantage formation of weichunbai No. 3. These results will provide an important reference for in-depth research on the molecular mechanism underlying the yield advantage formation of Chinese cabbage hybrids.

Main conclusionBcERF98 is induced by ethylene signaling and inhibits the expression of BcFT by interacting with BcNF-YA2 and BcEIP9, thereby inhibiting plant flowering.Several stresses trigger the accumulation of ethylene, which then transmits the signal to ethylene response factors (ERFs) to participate in the regulation of plant development to adapt to the environment. This study clarifies the function of BcERF98, a homolog of AtERF98, in the regulation of plant flowering time mediated by high concentrations of ethylene. Results indicate that BcERF98 is a nuclear and the cell membrane-localized transcription factor and highly responsive to ethylene signaling. BcERF98 inhibits the expression of BcFT by interacting with BcEIP9 and BcNF-YA2, which are related to flowering time regulation, thereby participating in ethylene-mediated plant late flowering regulation. The results have enriched the theoretical knowledge of flowering regulation in non-heading Chinese cabbage (NHCC), providing the scientific basis and gene reserves for cultivating new varieties of NHCC with different flowering times.

Background Non-heading Chinese cabbage (NHCC, Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis ) is an important leaf vegetable grown worldwide. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance for extreme temperature in NHCC. The limited availability of NHCC genomic information has greatly hindered functional analysis and molecular breeding. Results Here, we conduct comprehensive analyses of cold and heat treatments in NHCC using RNA-seq. Approximately 790 million paired-end reads representing 136,189 unigenes with N50 length of 1705 bp were obtained. Totally, 14,329 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected. Among which, 10 DEGs were detected in all treatments, including 7 up-regulated and 3 down-regulated. The enrichment analyses showed 25 and 33 genes were enriched under cold and heat treatments, respectively. Additionally, 10,001 LncRNAs were identified, and 9,687 belonged to novel LncRNAs. The expression of miRNAs were more than that of pri-miRNAs and LncRNAs. Furthermore, we constructed a coexpression network for LncRNAs and miRNAs. It showed 67 and 192 genes were regulated by LncRNAs under cold and heat treatments, respectively. We constructed the flowchart for identifying LncRNAs of NHCC using transcriptome. Except conducting the de novo transcriptome analyses, we also compared these unigenes with the Chinese cabbage proteins. We identified several most important genes, and discussed their regulatory networks and crosstalk in cold and heat stresses. Conclusions We presented the first comprehensive characterization for NHCC crops and constructed the flowchart for identifying LncRNAs using transcriptome. Therefore, this study represents a fully characterized NHCC transcriptome, and provides a valuable resource for genetic and genomic studies under abiotic stress.

Background Although hormesis induced by heavy metals is a well-known phenomenon, the involved biological mechanisms are not fully understood. Cadmium (Cd) is a prevalent heavy metal in the environment. Exposure of Cd, via intake or consumption of Cd-contaminated air or food, poses a huge threat to human health. Chinese cabbage pakchoi ( Brassica chinensis L.) is widely planted and consumed as a popular vegetable in China. Therefore, studying the response of Chinese cabbage pakchoi to Cd- stressed conditions is critical to assess whether cabbage can accumulate Cd and serve as an important Cd exposure pathway to human beings. In this study, we investigated the influence of Cd stress on growth, photosynthetic physiology, antioxidant enzyme activities, nutritional quality, anatomical structure, and canopy temperature in Chinese cabbage pakchoi. A partial least squares (PLS) model was used to quantify the relationship between physical and chemical indicators with Cd accumulation in cabbage, and identify the main controlling factors. Results Results showed that Cd stress significantly inhibited cabbage’s growth and development. When Cd stress was increased, the phenotypic indicators were significantly reduced. Meanwhile, Cd stress significantly enhanced the oxidative stress response of cabbage, such as the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in leaves. Such a change tended to increase fenestrated tissues’ thickness but decrease the thickness of leaf and spongy tissues. Moreover, Cd stress significantly increased soluble sugar, protein, and vitamin C contents in leaves as well as the temperature in the plant canopy. The PLS model analysis showed that the studied phenotypic and physicochemical indicators had good relationships with Cd accumulation in roots, shoots, and the whole plant of cabbage, with high coefficient of determination (R 2 ) values of 0.891, 0.811, and 0.845, and low relative percent deviation (RPD) values of 3.052, 2.317, and 2.557, respectively. Furthermore, through analyzing each parameter’s variable importance for projection (VIP) value, the SOD activity was identified as a key factor for indicating Cd accumulation in cabbage. Meanwhile, the effects of CAT on Cd accumulation in cabbage and the canopy mean temperature were also high. Conclusion Cd stress has significant inhibitory effects and can cause damage cabbage’s growth and development, and the SOD activity may serve as a key factor to indicate Cd uptake and accumulation in cabbage.

Background The bolting and flowering processes are crucial for the yield of stem vegetables and require sugar support. Sugar is synthesized through photosynthesis in the leaves and transported to the stems via transmembrane transport. Brassica campestris (flowering Chinese cabbage) is a unique vegetable that does not require vernalization for flowering and has a distinct flowering regulation mechanism. “Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporters” (SWEET), a relatively newly identified group of sugar transporters, play vital roles in plant development. However, the role of B. campestris SWEET ( BcSWEET ) genes in the growth and development of flowering Chinese cabbage remains to be elucidated. Results In this study, 32 BcSWEET genes were identified, which are unevenly distributed across nine chromosomes and classified into four groups based on their homology with Arabidopsis . Significant differences were observed in the physicochemical properties, motif composition, and gene structure of the BcSWEET gene family. However, all BcSWEET proteins are predicted to be localized in the cell membrane. Prediction of transmembrane regions showed that all members contained the MtN3/saliva domain. The BcSWEET promoter regions contain different cis-regulatory elements involved in developmental and hormonal regulation, stress responses, and light-responsive regulation. Expression pattern analysis of the 32 BcSWEET genes revealed that most are associated with reproductive growth in different tissues, with the majority being upregulated in petals and flower buds. BcSWEET1-2 has been confirmed to be localized in the cell membrane and to function as a hexose transporter. Overexpression of BcSWEET1-2 in Arabidopsis promotes stem carbohydrate accumulation, upregulates flowering gene expression, enhances Arabidopsis stem elongation, and advances flowering time. Conclusions This study systematically identified the BcSWEET gene family in flowering Chinese cabbage and characterized its physicochemical properties, evolutionary relationships, and expression patterns. Further analysis demonstrated that some BcSWEET gene members may play crucial roles in flowering regulation. These findings provide theoretical guidance for further research on the role of SWEET-induced sugar accumulation in flower development in flowering Chinese cabbage.

Leaf curling is an essential prerequisite for the formation of leafy heads in Chinese cabbage. However, the part or tissue that determines leaf curvature remains largely unclear. In this study, we first introduced the auxin-responsive marker DR5::GUS into the Chinese cabbage genome and visualized its expression during the farming season. We demonstrated that auxin response is adaxially/abaxially distributed in leaf veins. Together with the fact that leaf veins occupy considerable proportions of the Chinese cabbage leaf, we propose that leaf veins play a crucial supporting role as a framework for heading. Then, by combining analyses of QTL mapping and a time-course transcriptome from heading Chinese cabbage and non-heading pak choi during the farming season, we identified the auxin-related gene BrPIN5 as a strong candidate for leafy head formation. PIN5 displays an adaxial/abaxial expression pattern in leaf veins, similar to that of DR5::GUS , revealing an involvement of BrPIN5 in leafy head development. The association of BrPIN5 function with heading was further confirmed by its haplo-specificity to heading individuals in both a natural population and two segregating populations. We thus conclude that the adaxial/abaxial patterning of auxin and auxin genes in leaf veins functions in the formation of the leafy head in Chinese cabbage.