France
February 2025

After 4 years of investigations aimed at identifying the genetic determinants of adaptation to climatic conditions in cabbage and turnip, the BRASEXPLOR project presented its progress to its Scientific Advisory Board, which issued a favourable opinion on the work and insisted on the importance of depositing the genetic resources characterised thanks to the project on Eurisco, the European catalogue of plant genetic resources.

A total of 117 Brassica rapa and 80 Brassica oleracea wild and cultivated populations were multiplied and characterised at different scales by the 11 partners in the H2020 PRIMA project.

Several publications were submitted, including two involving GEVES, which phenotyped the germination of genetic resources native to the Mediterranean area. Among the publications, the most unexpected for scientific work is a recipe book to bring these two somewhat neglected vegetables back into fashion. This e-book in 5 languages (Arabic, French, Italian, Slovenian and English) contains 35 regional recipes to promote the use of local varieties in the specialities of each of the 4 countries in which they were collected. This e-book has benefited from the experience of Blandine Serret from the Hachette publishing house and is freely accessible.

This project has developed automated methods for evaluating the germination of cabbage and turnip seed lots under stressful conditions.

BRASEXPLOR at GEVES will come to an end in New Zealand, where a final paper on turnip dormancy will be presented at the ISTA Seed Symposium 2025.

References

• Falentin, C., Hadj-Arab, H., Aissiou, F., Bartoli, C., Bazan, G., Boudet, M., Bousset-Vaslin, L., Chouikhi, M., Coriton,O., Deniot, G., Ferreira De Carvalho, J., Gay, L., Geraci, A., Glory, P., Huteau, V., Ilahy, R., Ilardi, V., Jarillo, J. A., Meglič, V.,Oddo, E., Pernas, M., Piñeiro, M., Pipan, B., Rhim, T., Richer, V., Rizza, F., Ronfort, J., Rousseau-Gueutin, M., Schicchi, R.,Sinkovič, L., Taburel, M., Terzi, V., Théréné, S., Tiret, M., Tlili, I., Wagner, M.H., Badeck, F. W., Chèvre, A., 2024. Combined cytogenetic and molecular methods for taxonomic verification and description of Brassica populations deriving from different origins. Genetic Resources 5 (9), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.46265/genresj.RYAJ6068
• HADJ-ARAB Houria; BLAMA Aïcha; CHEVRE, Anne-Marie; BOUDET, Matéo; BOUSSET-VASLIN Lydia; DANIEL Loic; FALENTIN, Cyril; GLORY Pascal; WAGNER Marie-Hélène; DUPONT Audrey; GERACI Anna; ODDO Elisabetta; SCHICCHI Rosario; TERZI Valeria; SINKOVIC Lovro; MEGLIC Vladimir; PIPAN Barbara, 2024, “Cabbage and turnip: rediscovering old friends”, https://doi.org/10.57745/YD4VHS
• Tiret, M., Wagner, M.-H., Gay, L., Chenel, E., Dupont, A., Falentin, C., Gavory, F., Labadie, K., Ducournau, S., Chèvre, A.-M., 2024. An unexplored diversity for adaptation of germination to high temperatures in Brassica species. bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.22.619588
• Wagner, MH., Dufour, T., Geraci A., Oddo E., Tarantino GR., Scafidi F., Bailly C., Hadj Arab H., Boucenna B., Tiret M., Falentin C., Dupont A., Ducournau S., Chèvre AM., 2025. Breaking seed physical and physiological dormancy in Mediterranean Brassica rapa L. wild populations: is cold plasma treatment efficient? Seed Science and Technology, soumis.
   

Final meeting in Montpellier in July 2024: 16 participants indoors and 6 online
 

Final meeting in Montpellier in July 2024: 16 participants indoors and 6 online

Website: http://www.geves.fr

Published: February 28, 2025