20.500.12556/RUL-179993 Glucosinolate variation, heterosis, and prediction of hybrid performance from parental values in white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) Glucosinolates (GSLs) are sulfur-containing secondary metabolites with important roles in plant defense and human health. Developing hybrids with increased GSL content is a promising approach to improve both resistance and health-related traits in cabbage. In other crops, moderately to highly heritable traits often show strong parent–hybrid correlations, enabling prediction of hybrid performance from parental phenotypes. Because GSLs show moderate to high heritability in closely related Brassica crops, this strategy has strong potential for developing cabbage hybrids with increased GSL content. Here, we evaluated GSL composition, variation, heterosis, and parent–hybrid correlations in 14 cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) doubled haploid lines, 11 derived hybrids, and two commercial hybrids. Desulfoglucosinolates were quantified by UHPLC–MS/MS using glucotropaeolin as an internal standard. Thirteen GSLs were detected across all genotypes, and total GSL concentrations ranged from 19.7 to 67.8 μmol g⁻¹ dw, indicating substantial genotype-dependent variation, with aliphatic GSLs dominating the profile (73.0%), followed by indolyl (26.9%) and aromatic (0.1%). Hierarchical clustering revealed two major genotype groups, differentiated primarily by 3C and 4C aliphatic GSLs, with correlation analysis reflecting coordinated regulation and trade-offs in their accumulation. Mid-parent heterosis (MPH) varied by compound and parental combination, with some GSLs showing consistently positive MPH (e.g., gluconapin) and others consistently negative MPH (e.g., neoglucobrassicin). Linear regression models showed that mid-parent values explained a high proportion of hybrid variability for major aliphatic glucosinolates and, to a lesser extent, for indolyl glucobrassicin, supporting the use of parental phenotyping to predict hybrid GSL performance. In parallel, agronomic traits showed uniformly positive mid-parent heterosis, with head weight exhibiting the highest values. Overall, these results support integrating parental GSL profiling into cabbage breeding to improve nutritional and defense-related traits alongside yield, thereby reducing the need for extensive testcrossing and field trials. cabbage doubled haploid lines glucosinolates heterosis hybrid breeding nutritional value zelje haploidne linije glukozinolati hibridi hranilna vrednost true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-02-27 11:57:00 2026-02-27 11:57:07 2026-02-28 04:43:37 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 15 str. art. 1703515 Vol. 17 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 631 1664-462X 10.3389/fpls.2026.1703515 269916675 fpls-17-1703515.pdf fpls-17-1703515.pdf 1 6A3D5D7A182F9B459B299F064BD3DF67 6b001e9e70ddfe809da6fae72f3c5b5a669225ac8c90921e0879d11a0051f712 55b0c2f1-13cb-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=228984 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1703515/full 1 bb01bec6-13ca-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=228983 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0