Genetic and environmental variation of glucosinolate content in Chinese cabbage

Strong evidence exists to suggest that increased consumption of glucosinolates from Brassica vegetables is associated with reduced risk of cancer induction and development. Development of elite germplasm of these vegetables with enhanced levels of glucosinolates will putatively enhance health promotion among the consuming public. To evaluate levels of glucosinolate phenotypic variation in Chinese cabbage tissue and partition the total phenotypic variation into component sources (genotype, environment, and genotype-by-environment interaction), a set of 23 Brassica rapa L. var. pekinensis genotypes were grown in two different environments (field plots and greenhouse ground beds). Gluconasturtiin and glucobrassicin were found to account for approximate to 80% of total head glucosinolate content. Significant differences were found in glucosinolate concentrations between the lowest and highest genotypes for glucobrassicin (6-fold) and for gluconasturtiin (2.5-fold). Analysis of variance showed that for the three major glucosinolates (gluconasturtiin, glucobrassicin, and progoitrin), the genotypic effects described most of the phenotypic variation (62% averaged over the three compounds). The next most important factor was genotype x environment interaction (29%), whereas variation affiliated with the environment was found to be relatively minor (8%). These results suggest that genetic manipulation and selection can be conducted to increase glucosinolate content and the putative health promotion associated with consumption of Chinese cabbage.