The Brassicaceae — Agri-Horticultural and Environmental Perspectives

The Brassicaceae (the mustard family, or Cruciferae), an angiosperm family includes several plants of major agronomic, scientific and economic importance. Apart from containing several cultivated species (such as radish, rocket, watercress, wasabi, horseradish, vegetable and oil crops), this family is proud to have model species (Arabidopsis, Alyssum and Brassica), and developing model generic systems (Boechera, Brassica, and Cardamine). In particular, Arabidopsis thaliana (being the first plant species to have its genome sequenced), Thlaspi sp., and Brassica oilseed species (holding the third position among oilseed crops and are an important source of vegetable oil) have revolutionized our knowledge in almost every field of modern plant biology. Additionally, several representatives of the family Brassicaceae have potential to grow fast, yield high biomass, well-adapted to a range of environmental conditions; hence, are equally playing significant roles for achieving environmental sustainability through minimizing contaminants and their toxic consequences.

This Frontiers Research Topic ‘ The Brassicaceae- Agri-Horticultural and Environmental Perspectives’ is an effort to provide a common platform to agronomists, horticulturists, plant breeders/tissue culturists, plant geneticists/molecular biologists, plant physiologists and environmental plant scientists addressing sustainable approaches to improve crop productivity and quality, and sustainably resolving varied environmental contamination issues.

We welcome contributions from researchers from over the globe working in the major field of agri-horticultural and environmental perspectives of Brassicaceae plants. Contributions can be Research Articles, Review Articles, Methods, Hypothesis or Theory/Opinion papers.

Topics to be explored (but not limited to):

-Taxonomy of family Brassicaceae;
- Contribution of Brassicaceae family to plant taxonomy research;
-Brassicaceae-phylogeny and evolutionary history;
- Molecular/genetic studies on Brassicaceae plants in agri-horticultural and environmental perspectives;
- Model Brassicaceae plants studied for getting insights into plant molecular/genetic research;
- Contribution of Brassicaceae family to global agricultural/horticultural science;
- Contribution of Brassicaceae family to phytoremediation;
- Breeding and tissue culture of Brassicaceae plants in agri-horticultural and environmental perspectives;
- Phytochemicals of Brassicaceae and their role in the protection of plant and human health
- Brassicaceae and biofuel;
-Metal/metalloid homeostasis in Brassicaceae plants;
-Plant mineral nutrients assimilation in Brassicaceae plants;
-Salinity, drought, temperature regimes, UV-B tolerance/sensitivity in Brassicaceae plants;
-Studies related with plant hormones, osmolytes, and plant nutrients in Brassicaceae plants;
-Proteomic, genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomics studies on Brassicaceae plants; and
-Strategies for improving potential of Brassicaceae plants in agri-horticultural and environmental perspectives.