Host plant defenses are known to cascade up food chains to influence herbivores and their natural enemies, but how herbivore and predator traits and identity mediate such tri-trophic dynamics is largely unknown. We assessed the influence of plant defense on aphid and coccinellid performance in laboratory trials with low- vs. high-glucosinolate varieties of Brassica napus, a dietary specialist (...

The inducibility of the glucosinolate resistance mechanism is an energy-saving strategy for plants, but whether induction would still be triggered by glucosinolate-tolerant Plutella xylostella (diamondback moth, DBM) after a plant had evolved a new resistance mechanism (e.g., saponins in Barbara vulgaris) was unknown. In B. vulgaris, aromatic glucosinolates derived from homo-phenylalanine are t...

Glucosinolates are a group of thioglucosides in plants of the Brassicales order. Together with their hydrolytic enzymes, the myrosinases, they constitute the 'mustard oil bomb' involved in plant defense. Here we summarize recent studies in Arabidopsis that have provided molecular evidence that the glucosinolate-myrosinase system is much more than a 'two-component defense system,' and started to...

Floret, leaf, and root tissues were harvested from broccoli and collard cultivars and extracted to determine their glucosinolate and hydrolysis product profiles using high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromotography. Quinone reductase inducing bioactivity, an estimate of anti-cancer chemopreventive potential, of the extracts was measured using a hepa1c1c7 murine cell line. Extracts...

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping studies enable identification of loci that are part of regulatory networks controlling various phenotypes. Detailed investigations of genes within these loci are required to ultimately understand the function of individual genes and how they interact with other players in the network. In this study, we use transgenic plants in combination with natural varia...

The word ‘‘italic’’ in the title of this article is incorrect and should be spelled ‘‘italica’’. The correct title is: RNA-Seq Analysis of Transcriptome and Glucosinolate Metabolism in Seeds and Sprouts of Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). The correct citation is: Gao J, Yu X, Ma F, Li J (2014) RNASeq Analysis of Transcriptome and Glucosinolate Metabolism in Seeds and Sprouts of Brocco...

Glucosinolates, a class of secondary metabolites, mainly found in Brassicaceae, are affected by the changing environment. This review is focusing on the physiological significance of glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products in the plant response to different abiotic stresses. Special attention is paid to the crosstalk between some of the physiological processes involved in stress response a...

We recently described the glucosinolate transporters GTR1 and GTR2 as actively contributing to the establishment of tissue-specific distribution of the defense compounds glucosinolates in vegetative Arabidopsis plants. Upon bolting and thereby development of the inflorescence and initiation of seed setting, the spatial distribution of glucosinolates does undergo major changes. Here we investiga...

Within the cell, biosynthetic pathways are embedded in protein-protein interaction networks. In Arabidopsis, the biosynthetic pathways of aliphatic and indole glucosinolate defense compounds are well-characterized. However, little is known about the spatial orchestration of these enzymes and their interplay with the cellular environment. To address these aspects, we applied two complementary, u...

Sinigrin (allyl-glucosinolate or 2-propenyl-glucosinolate) is a natural aliphatic glucosinolate present in plants of the Brassicaceae family, such as broccoli and brussels sprouts, and the seeds of Brassica nigra (mustard seeds) which contain high amounts of sinigrin. Since ancient times, mustard has been used by mankind for its culinary, as well as medicinal, properties. It has been systematic...