This review discusses the importance of glucosinolates in plant protection. The Brassicaceae, which are cultivated worldwide, use glucosinolates and their decomposition products to defend themselves against attacks by harmful organisms. The glucosinolate content varies among individual plant species, plant organs and developmental stages. The glucosinolate content in plants is also affected by biotic and abiotic factors, while the type or quantity of glucosinolate determines the susceptibility of the plants to insect pests. These facts can pose a problem when implementing this knowledge in cultivation of the Brassicaceae, especially in regions with moderate climates where Brassicaceae crops are exposed to attacks by a large number of harmful organisms. Under these circumstances, it is essential to research new, or to improve the existing environmentally acceptable methods of protecting Brassicaceae plants against economically important pests.

- This review discusses the importance of glucosinolates in plant protection. The Brassicaceae, which are cultivated worldwide, use glucosinolates and their decomposition products to defend themselves against attacks by harmful organisms. The glucosinolate content varies among individual plant species, plant organs and developmental stages. The glucosinolate content in plants is also affected by biotic and abiotic factors, while the type or quantity of glucosinolate determines the susceptibility of the plants to insect pests. These facts can pose a problem when implementing this knowledge in cultivation of the Brassicaceae, especially in regions with moderate climates where Brassicaceae crops are exposed to attacks by a large number of harmful organisms. Under these circumstances, it is essential to research new, or to improve the existing environmentally acceptable methods of protecting Brassicaceae plants against economically important pests.

Pea root rot disease caused by the pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches deserves increased attention, since peas are an important cash crop and also improve the N balance in temperate agriculture. However, due to pea root rot it is difficult to cultivate peas as frequently and successfully as desired. In the search for biological measures to overcome this problem, attention has been drawn to the use of Brassicaceae plants as cover crops between main crops, since these can be effective catch crops for nutrients and also exert allelopathic effects. Many species within the Brassicaceae contain glucosinolates (GSLs). Their hydrolysis products, the volatile isothiocyanates (ITCs), have been shown to suppress soil-borne plant pathogens such as A. euteiches. In addition, Brassicaceae biomass releases water-soluble toxic substances such as oxazolidine-2-thione and supplies nutrients and organic matter. Overall, this influences the soil microbial community and the final suppression of pathogens. Due to the unpredictability of the control effect of Brassicaceae biomass incorporation into soil on the pathogen, there is a need to define the mechanisms behind suppression in the field situation. This review focuses on how incorporation of Brassicaceae biomass suppresses A. euteiches under field conditions and the effect on the emerging pea. Different factors influencing the severity of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) root rot disease are also discussed. One conclusion is that suppression of pea root rot depends on the quality and quantity of incorporated Brassicaceae biomass.

Plant regeneration has been optimized increasingly by organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis using a range of explants with tissue culture improvements focusing on factors, such as the age of the explant, genotype, media supplements and Agrobacterium co-cultivation. The production of haploids and doubled haploids using microspores has accelerated the production of homozygous lines in Brassicaceae crop plants. Somatic cell fusion has facilitated the development of interspecific and intergeneric hybrids in sexually incompatible species of Brassica. Crop improvement using somaclonal variation has also been achieved. Transformation technologies are being exploited routinely to elucidate the gene function and contribute to the development of novel enhanced crops. The Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is the most widely used approach for the introduction of transgenes into Brassicaceae, and in vitro regeneration is a key factor in developing an efficient transformation method in plants. Although many other Brassicaceae are used as model species for improving plant regeneration and transformation systems, this paper focuses on the recent technologies used to regenerate the most important Brassicaceae crop plants.

With the increasing advances in Brassicaceae genetics and genomics, considerable progress has been made in the transformation of Brassicaceae. Transformation technologies are now being exploited routinely to determine the gene function and contribute to the development of novel enhanced crops. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation remains the most widely used approach for the introduction of transgenes into Brassicaceae. In Brassica, the transformation relies mainly on in vitro transformation methods. Nevertheless, despite the significant progress made towards enhancing the transformation efficiencies, some genotypes remain recalcitrant to transformation. Advances in our understanding of the genetics behind various transformations have enabled researchers to identify more readily transformable genotypes for use in routine high-throughput systems. These developments have opened up exciting new avenues to exploit model Brassica genotypes as resources for understanding the gene function in complex genomes. Although many other Brassicaceae have served as model species for improving plant transformation systems, this paper summarizes on the recent technologies employed in the transformation of both Arabidopsis and Brassica. The use of transformation technologies for the introduction of desirable traits and a comparative analysis of these as well as their future prospects are also important parts of the current research that is reviewed.

The ARC1 E3 ubiquitin ligase was previously shown to be required for self-pollen rejection in Brassica , and this report shows that its function is conserved in other Brassicaceae species. ARC1 was found to be required for self-pollen rejection in Arabidopsis lyrata and was frequently deleted in genomes of Brassicaceae species that had lost this self-incompatibility trait.

The study was conducted in 2006 - 2008 at the Production and Experimental Station of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, located in Bałcyny (NE Poland). The objective of this study was to determine the microbial quality of soil after Brassicaceae grown as forecrops for winter wheat. A field experiment was established on grey-brown podsolic soil, and it involved the following forecrops: winter rapeseed, spring rapeseed, white mustard, Chinese mustard, and winter wheat as control. Soil samples for microbiological analyses were collected in the spring, before the sowing of forecrops, and in the autumn, after the harvest of Brassicaceae and ploughing-in crop residues. Bacterial and fungal communities isolated from soil sown with Brassicaceae as forecrops were generally more abundant and diverse. These communities exerted an inhibitory effect on the growth of soil pathogens. Forecrops with the greatest microbiological potential were white mustard and winter rapeseed.

In some species, a crucial role has been demonstrated for the seed endosperm during germination. The endosperm has been shown to integrate environmental cues with hormonal networks that underpin dormancy and seed germination, a process that involves the action of cell wall remodeling enzymes (CWREs). Here, we examine the cell wall architectures of the endosperms of two related Brassicaceae, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and the close relative Lepidium (Lepidium sativum), and that of the Solanaceous species, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The Brassicaceae species have a similar cell wall architecture that is rich in pectic homogalacturonan, arabinan, and xyloglucan. Distinctive features of the tobacco endosperm that are absent in the Brassicaceae representatives are major tissue asymmetries in cell wall structural components that reflect the future site of radicle emergence and abundant heteromannan. Cell wall architecture of the micropylar endosperm of tobacco seeds has structural components similar to those seen in Arabidopsis and Lepidium endosperms. In situ and biomechanical analyses were used to study changes in endosperms during seed germination and suggest a role for mannan degradation in tobacco. In the case of the Brassicaceae representatives, the structurally homogeneous cell walls of the endosperm can be acted on by spatially regulated CWRE expression. Genetic manipulations of cell wall components present in the Arabidopsis seed endosperm demonstrate the impact of cell wall architectural changes on germination kinetics.

In some species, a crucial role has been demonstrated for the seed endosperm during germination. The endosperm has been shown to integrate environmental cues with hormonal networks that underpin dormancy and seed germination, a process that involves the action of cell wall remodeling enzymes (CWREs). Here, we examine the cell wall architectures of the endosperms of two related Brassicaceae, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and the close relative Lepidium (Lepidium sativum), and that of the Solanaceous species, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The Brassicaceae species have a similar cell wall architecture that is rich in pectic homogalacturonan, arabinan, and xyloglucan. Distinctive features of the tobacco endosperm that are absent in the Brassicaceae representatives are major tissue asymmetries in cell wall structural components that reflect the future site of radicle emergence and abundant heteromannan. Cell wall architecture of the micropylar endosperm of tobacco seeds has structural components similar to those seen in Arabidopsis and Lepidium endosperms. In situ and biomechanical analyses were used to study changes in endosperms during seed germination and suggest a role for mannan degradation in tobacco. In the case of the Brassicaceae representatives, the structurally homogeneous cell walls of the endosperm can be acted on by spatially regulated CWRE expression. Genetic manipulations of cell wall components present in the Arabidopsis seed endosperm demonstrate the impact of cell wall architectural changes on germination kinetics.

The experiment was carried out in the years 2006-2008 in Bałcyny (N=53°35'49"; E=19°51'20"). The aim of this study was to determine the effect of sulfur fertilization on the sanitary state of spring oilseed rape, winter oilseed rape, white mustard and Chinese mustard as well as on the species composition of fungi colonizing their seeds. Sulfur fertilization had a beneficial effect on the health of Brassicaceae plants infested by Alternaria blight, grey mould, Sclerotinia stem rot, Phoma stem canker and Verticillium wilt, but it had a varying effect on the occurrence of powdery mildew. Alternaria alternata and Penicillium spp. were isolated most frequently from Brassicaceae seeds. In general, more fungi (including pathogenic to Brassicaceae) were isolated from the seeds of plants grown in non-sulfur fertilized plots. Pathogens occurred primarily on the seed surface, and their number decreased after surface disinfection of seeds.