Brassica species, including crops such as cabbage, turnip and oilseed, display enormous phenotypic variation. Brassica genomes have all undergone a whole-genome triplication (WGT) event with unknown effects on phenotype diversification. We resequenced 199 Brassica rapa and 119 Brassica oleracea accessions representing various morphotypes and identified signals of selection at the mesohexaploid subgenome level. For cabbage morphotypes with their typical leaf-heading trait, we identified four subgenome loci that show signs of parallel selection among subgenomes within B. rapa, as well as four such loci within B. oleracea. Fifteen subgenome loci are under selection and are shared by these two species. We also detected strong subgenome parallel selection linked to the domestication of the tuberous morphotypes, turnip (B. rapa) and kohlrabi (B. oleracea). Overall, we demonstrated that the mesohexaploidization of the two Brassica genomes contributed to their diversification into heading and tuber-forming morphotypes through convergent subgenome parallel selection of paralogous genes.

Summary Plants are exposed to combinations of various biotic and abiotic stresses, but stress responses are usually investigated for single stresses only.Here, we investigated the genetic architecture underlying plant responses to 11 single stresses and several of their combinations by phenotyping 350 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. A set of 214 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was screened for marker‐trait associations in genome‐wide association (GWA) analyses using tailored multi‐trait mixed models.Stress responses that share phytohormonal signaling pathways also share genetic architecture underlying these responses. After removing the effects of general robustness, for the 30 most significant SNPs, average quantitative trait locus (QTL) effect sizes were larger for dual stresses than for single stresses.Plants appear to deploy broad‐spectrum defensive mechanisms influencing multiple traits in response to combined stresses. Association analyses identified QTLs with contrasting and with similar responses to biotic vs abiotic stresses, and below‐ground vs above‐ground stresses. Our approach allowed for an unprecedented comprehensive genetic analysis of how plants deal with a wide spectrum of stress conditions.

The role of many genes and interactions among genes involved in flowering time have been studied extensively in Arabidopsis, and the purpose of this study was to investigate how effectively results obtained with the model species Arabidopsis can be applied to the Brassicacea with often larger and more complex genomes. Brassica rapa represents a very close relative, with its triplicated genome, with subgenomes having evolved by genome fractionation. The question of whether this genome fractionation is a random process, or whether specific genes are preferentially retained, such as flowering time (Ft) genes that play a role in the extreme morphological variation within the B. rapa species (displayed by the diverse morphotypes), is addressed. Data are presented showing that indeed Ft genes are preferentially retained, so the next intriguing question is whether these different orthologues of Arabidopsis Ft genes play similar roles compared with Arabidopsis, and what is the role of these different orthologues in B. rapa. Using a genetical–genomics approach, co-location of flowering quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and expression QTLs (eQTLs) resulted in identification of candidate genes for flowering QTLs and visualization of co-expression networks of Ft genes and flowering time. A major flowering QTL on A02 at the BrFLC2 locus co-localized with cis eQTLs for BrFLC2, BrSSR1, and BrTCP11, and trans eQTLs for the photoperiod gene BrCO and two paralogues of the floral integrator genes BrSOC1 and BrFT. It is concluded that the BrFLC2 Ft gene is a major regulator of flowering time in the studied doubled haploid population.

Flowering time is an important agronomic trait, and wide variation exists among Brassica rapa. In Arabidopsis, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) plays an important role in modulating flowering time and the response to vernalization. Brassica rapa contains several paralogues of FLC at syntenic regions. BrFLC2 maps under a major flowering time and vernalization response quantitative trait locus (QTL) at the top of A02. Here the effects of vernalization on flowering time in a double haploid (DH) population and on BrFLC2 expression in selected lines of a DH population in B. rapa are descibed. The effect of the major flowering time QTL on the top of A02 where BrFLC2 maps clearly decreases upon vernalization, which points to a role for BrFLC2 underlying the QTL. In all developmental stages and tissues (seedlings, cotyledons, and leaves), BrFLC2 transcript levels are higher in late flowering pools of DH lines than in pools of early flowering DH lines. BrFLC2 expression diminished after different durations of seedling vernalization in both early and late DH lines. The reduction of BrFLC2 expression upon seedling vernalization of both early and late flowering DH lines was strongest at the seedling stage and diminished in subsequent growth stages, which suggests that the commitment to flowering is already set at very early developmental stages. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that BrFLC2 is a candidate gene for the flowering time and vernalization response QTL in B. rapa.

Plants adjust their development and architecture to small variations in ambient temperature. In a time in which temperatures are rising world-wide, the mechanism by which plants are able to sense temperature fluctuations and adapt to it, is becoming of special interest. By performing RNA-sequencing on two Arabidopsis accession and one Brassica species exposed to temperature alterations, we showed that alternative splicing is an important mechanism in ambient temperature sensing and adaptation. We found that amongst the differentially alternatively spliced genes, splicing related genes are enriched, suggesting that the splicing machinery itself is targeted for alternative splicing when temperature changes. Moreover, we showed that many different components of the splicing machinery are targeted for ambient temperature regulated alternative splicing. Mutant analysis of a splicing related gene that was differentially spliced in two of the genotypes showed an altered flowering time response to different temperatures. We propose a two-step mechanism where temperature directly influences alternative splicing of the splicing machinery genes, followed by a second step where the altered splicing machinery affects splicing of downstream genes involved in the adaptation to altered temperatures.