Self-incompatibility (SI), which has recurred during the evolution of plants, is one of the most important cross-pollination mating systems. Three S-loci have been reported in Brassicaceae, namely, Arabidopsis lyrata (Al), Brassica (Br), and Leavenworthia alabamica (La) S-loci. Here, through multi-genomic comparative analysis of 20 species, we revealed that the most ancient S-locus was formed prior to the divergence of Brassicaceae lineage I and II. It was retained and inherited by Arabidopsis, as the Al S-locus in Brassicaceae lineage I. Furthermore, we found that the Br S-locus, which has been widely used in the breeding of Brassica crops to generate hybrid seeds, was formed through segmental translocation (ST) in the hexaploid ancestor of Brassica in Brassicaceae lineage II. The Br S-locus was evolved through a ST from one of the triplicated ancestral S-locus paralogs in the Brassica hexaploidy ancestor, while the other two S-locus paralogs were lost. Together with the previous discovery that the La S-locus was formed through a secondary origin in Brassicaceae lineage I, we conclude the monophyletic origin of Al and Br S-loci and clarify the evolutionary route of S-loci in the Brassicaceae family. Our findings will contribute to evolutionary studies and breeding applications of the S-locus in Brassicaceae.

Self-incompatibility (SI), which has recurred during the evolution of plants, is one of the most important cross-pollination mating systems. Three S-loci have been reported in Brassicaceae, namely, Arabidopsis lyrata (Al), Brassica (Br), and Leavenworthia alabamica (La) S-loci. Here, through multi-genomic comparative analysis of 20 species, we revealed that the most ancient S-locus was formed prior to the divergence of Brassicaceae lineage I and II. It was retained and inherited by Arabidopsis, as the Al S-locus in Brassicaceae lineage I. Furthermore, we found that the Br S-locus, which has been widely used in the breeding of Brassica crops to generate hybrid seeds, was formed through segmental translocation (ST) in the hexaploid ancestor of Brassica in Brassicaceae lineage II. The Br S-locus was evolved through a ST from one of the triplicated ancestral S-locus paralogs in the Brassica hexaploidy ancestor, while the other two S-locus paralogs were lost. Together with the previous discovery that the La S-locus was formed through a secondary origin in Brassicaceae lineage I, we conclude the monophyletic origin of Al and Br S-loci and clarify the evolutionary route of S-loci in the Brassicaceae family. Our findings will contribute to evolutionary studies and breeding applications of the S-locus in Brassicaceae.

The tribe Aethionemeae is sister to all other crucifers, making it a crucial group for unraveling genome evolution and phylogenetic relationships within the crown group Brassicaceae. In this study, we extend the analysis of Brassicaceae genomic blocks (GBs) to Aethionema whereby we identified unique block boundaries shared only with the tribe Arabideae. This was achieved using bioinformatic methods to analyze synteny between the recently updated genome sequence of Aethionema arabicum and other high-quality Brassicaceae genome sequences. We show that compared to the largely conserved genomic structure of most non-polyploid Brassicaceae lineages, GBs are highly rearranged in Aethionema. Furthermore, we detected similarities between the genomes of Aethionema and Arabis alpina, in which also a high number of genomic rearrangements compared to those of other Brassicaceae was found. These similarities suggest that tribe Arabideae, a clade showing conflicting phylogenetic position between studies, may have diverged before diversification of the other major lineages, and highlight the potential of synteny information for phylogenetic inference.

The tribe Aethionemeae is sister to all other crucifers, making it a crucial group for unraveling genome evolution and phylogenetic relationships within the crown group Brassicaceae. In this study, we extend the analysis of Brassicaceae genomic blocks (GBs) to Aethionema whereby we identified unique block boundaries shared only with the tribe Arabideae. This was achieved using bioinformatic methods to analyze synteny between the recently updated genome sequence of Aethionema arabicum and other high-quality Brassicaceae genome sequences. We show that compared to the largely conserved genomic structure of most non-polyploid Brassicaceae lineages, GBs are highly rearranged in Aethionema. Furthermore, we detected similarities between the genomes of Aethionema and Arabis alpina, in which also a high number of genomic rearrangements compared to those of other Brassicaceae was found. These similarities suggest that tribe Arabideae, a clade showing conflicting phylogenetic position between studies, may have diverged before diversification of the other major lineages, and highlight the potential of synteny information for phylogenetic inference.

The tribe Aethionemeae is sister to all other crucifers, making it a crucial group for unraveling genome evolution and phylogenetic relationships within the crown group Brassicaceae. In this study, we extend the analysis of Brassicaceae genomic blocks (GBs) to Aethionema whereby we identified unique block boundaries shared only with the tribe Arabideae. This was achieved using bioinformatic methods to analyze synteny between the recently updated genome sequence of Aethionema arabicum and other high-quality Brassicaceae genome sequences. We show that compared to the largely conserved genomic structure of most non-polyploid Brassicaceae lineages, GBs are highly rearranged in Aethionema. Furthermore, we detected similarities between the genomes of Aethionema and Arabis alpina, in which also a high number of genomic rearrangements compared to those of other Brassicaceae was found. These similarities suggest that tribe Arabideae, a clade showing conflicting phylogenetic position between studies, may have diverged before diversification of the other major lineages, and highlight the potential of synteny information for phylogenetic inference.

History of the discovery, formation, structural and biochemical traits of the protein bodies, derivatives of the granular endoplasmic reticulum (GER) that are known as ER-bodies, are reviewed. The functions of ER-bodies in cell vital activity mainly in Arabidopsis thaliana are reported. The highly specific component of ER-bodies, β-glucosidase enzyme, is described and its protecting role for plants under effect of abiotic and biotic factors is characterized. Based on the analytical review of the literature, it is shown that ER-bodies and the transcription factor NAI2 are unique to species of the family Brassicaceae. The specificity of the system GER – ER-bodies for Brassicaceae and thus the fundamental and applied importance of future research of mechanisms of its functioning in A. thaliana and other Brassicaceae species are emphasized.

The most widely consumed Brassicaceae species were characterized and compared in the present study. The isothiocyanates and phenolic profiles were measured. The in vitro antioxidant and antiradical activities were determined using 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid diammonium salt, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical, ferric reducing antioxidant potential and β-carotene methods. The results showed that all Brassicaceae species evaluated had antioxidant properties, with watercress and green mustard being the most active antioxidant species. Every vegetable studied had a unique sulfur and phenolic profile. Twenty-five phytochemicals were found in Brassicaceae species and their antioxidant activity measured using pure compounds. The results showed that the strongest antioxidant compounds in decreasing order were myricetin, quercetin-3-galactoside, quercetin-3-glucoside, pterostilbene, ferulic acid, kaempferol, allyl isothiocyanate, and (-)-epicatechin. Besides, the phenolic compound trans-resveratrol was found in these species. The highest concentration of trans-resveratrol was observed in rocket leaves at up to 84 μg/g dry weight.

Angiosperms have become the dominant terrestrial plant group by diversifying for ~145 million years into a broad range of environments. During the course of evolution, numerous morphological innovations arose, often preceded by whole genome duplications (WGD). The mustard family (Brassicaceae), a successful angiosperm clade with ~4000 species, has been diversifying into many evolutionary lineages for more than 30 million years. Here we develop a species inventory, analyze morphological variation, and present a maternal, plastome-based genus-level phylogeny. We show that increased morphological disparity, despite an apparent absence of clade-specific morphological innovations, is found in tribes with WGDs or diversification rate shifts. Both are important processes in Brassicaceae, resulting in an overall high net diversification rate. Character states show frequent and independent gain and loss, and form varying combinations. Therefore, Brassicaceae pave the way to concepts of phylogenetic genome-wide association studies to analyze the evolution of morphological form and function.

Nowadays, consumers are demanding nutrient‐rich products for health optimal benefits. In this regard, Brassicaceae family plants, previously named cruciferous, group a large number of widely consumed species around the world. The popularity of Brassica is increasing due to their nutritional value and pharmacological effects. The group includes a large number of vegetable foods such as cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, mustards as well as, oilseed rapeseed, canola, among others. In recent years, the phytochemical composition of Brassicaceae has been studied deeply because they contain many valuable metabolites, which are directly linked to different recognized biological activities. The scientific evidence confirms diverse medical properties for the treatment of chronic diseases such as obesity, type‐2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, stroke), cancer, and osteoporosis. The unique features of Brassicaceae family plants conferred by their phytochemicals, have extended future prospects about their use for beneficial effects on human nutrition and health worldwide. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: For years, the Brassicaceae plants have been a fascinating research topic, due to their chemical composition characterized by rich in bioactive compounds. The implementation of extracts of these vegetables, causes various beneficial effects of high biological value in the treatment of diseases, owing to their bioactive properties (anti‐obesity, anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, gastroprotective, anti‐inflammatory, antianemic, and immunomodulator). Therefore, this review summarizes the chemical composition, describes the bioactive compounds isolated in the plant extracts, and highlights diverse biological activities, mainly the antimicrobial and antioxidant capacity. Brassica plants, as source of natural bioactive agents, have a great potential application to improve the human nutrition and health.

Low molecular weight secreted peptides have recently been shown to affect multiple aspects of plant growth, development, and defense responses. Here, we performed stepwise BLAST filtering to identify unannotated peptides from the Arabidopsis thaliana protein database and uncovered a novel secreted peptide family, secreted transmembrane peptides (STMPs). These low molecular weight peptides, which consist of an N‐terminal signal peptide and a transmembrane domain, were primarily localized to extracellular compartments but were also detected in the endomembrane system of the secretory pathway, including the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis identified 10 STMP family members that are specific to the Brassicaceae family. Brassicaceae plants showed dramatically inhibited root growth upon exposure to chemically synthesized STMP1 and STMP2. Arabidopsis overexpressing STMP1, 2, 4, 6, or 10 exhibited severely arrested growth, suggesting that STMPs are involved in regulating plant growth and development. In addition, in vitro bioassays demonstrated that STMP1, STMP2, and STMP10 have antibacterial effects against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, Ralstonia solanacearum, Bacillus subtilis, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens, demonstrating that STMPs are antimicrobial peptides. These findings suggest that STMP family members play important roles in various developmental events and pathogen defense responses in Brassicaceae plants.