A team led by Wang Haiping from the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences recently published a paper in Horticulture Research, revealing the molecular mechanism behind Chinese cabbage's resistance to clubroot disease. 

 

The study found that the calcium receptor protein BraCBL1.2 in Chinese cabbage participates in the immune response mediated by the anti-clubroot gene BraCRa. Clubroot disease is an important soil-borne disease of cruciferous vegetables that severely impacts the yield of Chinese cabbage. Using transcriptomic and molecular biology approaches, the research team confirmed that BraCBL1.2 is highly expressed in the root hairs of clubroot-resistant Chinese cabbage and collaborates with BraCRa to mediate immune responses against the clubroot pathogen. Further experiments showed that overexpressing BraCBL1.2 in transgenic Arabidopsis enhances resistance to the clubroot fungus.

 

These findings lay the foundation for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of clubroot resistance in cruciferous plants. Identifying resistance-related genes and signaling pathways will facilitate breeding new Chinese cabbage varieties with clubroot resistance, reducing pesticide usage and improving yield and quality. This research achievement, published in the latest issue of Horticulture Research, provides theoretical guidance for vegetable disease resistance breeding in China.