What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to understand how drought stress affects the levels and regulation of glucosinolates in Brassica oleracea across different genetic backgrounds.

February 8, 2026Open Access

Integrating Metabolic and Gene Expression Profiling of Glucosinolate Biosynthesis Under Drought Stress in Brassica oleracea

Key Points

This research aims to understand how drought stress affects the levels and regulation of glucosinolates in Brassica oleracea across different genetic backgrounds.
Combined HPLC to quantify glucosinolates and quantitative real-time PCR to assess gene expression.
Conducted correlation-based network analysis and in silico promoter characterization.
Evaluated responses to drought across various genetically diverse accessions.
Drought stress led to significant increases in sinigrin (35.9% to 55.1%) in BR1 and glucoerucin (up to 80.2%) in CCP1.
Indolic glucosinolates represented over 75% of total GLS in CV2 and CCP3.
Cluster analysis identified four unique drought response patterns irrespective of morphotype.
Correlation analysis indicated strong associations among aliphatic GLSs, with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.75.
Gene expression profiling revealed strong induction of regulatory genes, with CYP79F1 showing up to a 6.3-fold increase.

Abstract

Drought stress induces pronounced metabolic and transcriptional reprogramming of glucosinolate (GLS) biosynthesis in Brassica oleracea. An integrative approach combining HPLC-based quantification of individual GLSs, quantitative real-time PCR of core biosynthetic and regulatory genes, correlation-based network analysis, and in silico promoter characterization was applied to evaluate drought responses across genetically diverse accessions. Drought triggered strong, accession-specific shifts in GLS composition, with sinigrin content increasing from 35.9% to 55.1% in BR1 and glucoerucin reaching up to 80.2% in CCP1, while indolic GLSs such as glucobrassicin and neoglucobrassicin accounted for >75% of total GLSs in CV2 and CCP3. Hierarchical clustering separated accessions into four distinct drought response clusters independent of morphotype. Correlation analysis revealed drought-induced rewiring of GLS interdependencies, characterized by strengthened positive associations among aliphatic GLSs (r > 0.75). Gene expression profiling identified conserved MYB-centered regulatory modules (MYB28, MYB29, MYB34, MYB122) alongside strong accession-specific induction of CYP79F1 (up to 6.3-fold), FMOGS-OX5 (up to 4.8-fold), and ST5a (up to 5.1-fold). Promoter analysis revealed enrichment of ABA- and stress-responsive cis-regulatory elements. These findings delineate a genotype-dependent regulatory framework underlying GLS plasticity and identify quantitative metabolic and transcriptional markers relevant for breeding drought-resilient Brassica cultivars.

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