Brassica oleracea

Brassica oleracea
Wild cabbage plants
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Brassicales
Family:	Brassicaceae
Genus:	Brassica
Species:	B. oleracea
Binomial name
Brassica oleracea L.
Synonyms[2]
List Brassica alboglabra L.H.Bailey Brassica arborea Steud. Brassica bullata Pasq. Brassica capitala DC. ex H.Lév. Brassica caulorapa (DC.) Pasq. Brassica cephala DC. ex H.Lév. Brassica fimbriata Steud. Brassica gemmifera H.Lév. Brassica laciniata Steud. Brassica millecapitata H.Lév. Brassica oleracea subsp. acephala (DC.) Metzg. Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. Brassica oleracea subsp. caulorapa (DC.) Metzg. Brassica oleracea var. costata DC. Brassica oleracea subsp. fruticosa Metzg. Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera DC. Brassica oleracea convar. gemmifera (DC.) Gladis ex Diederichsen Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L. Brassica oleracea var. kashmiriana Naqshi & Javeid Brassica oleracea var. laciniata L. Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia DC. Brassica oleracea var. rubra L. Brassica oleracea var. sabauda L. Brassica oleracea var. sabellica L. Brassica oleracea var. viridis L. Brassica quercifolia DC. ex H.Lév. Brassica rubra Steud. Brassica suttoniana H.Lév. Brassica sylvestris (L.) Mill. Crucifera brassica E.H.L.Krause Napus oleracea (L.) K.F.Schimp. & Spenn. Rapa rotunda Mill. Raphanus brassica-officinalis Crantz

Brassica oleracea is a plant species from family Brassicaceae that includes many common cultivars used as vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan. The uncultivated form of the species, wild cabbage, is native to southwest Europe.

Wild B. oleracea is a tall biennial plant that forms a stout rosette of large leaves in the first year. The leaves are fleshier and thicker than other Brassica species—an adaptation that helps it store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, it uses the stored nutrients to produce a flower spike 1 to 2 metres (3–7 ft) tall with numerous yellow flowers.

According to the Triangle of U theory, B. oleracea is very closely related to five other species of the genus Brassica.^[3] A 2021 study suggests that Brassica cretica, native to the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly Greece and the Aegean Islands, was the closest living relative of cultivated B. oleracea, thus supporting the view that its cultivation originated in the Eastern Mediterranean region, with later admixture from other Brassica species.^[4] Genetic analysis of nine wild populations on the French Atlantic coast indicated their common feral origin, deriving from domesticated plants escaped from fields and gardens.^[5]

The cultivars of B. oleracea are grouped by developmental form into several major cultivar groups, of which the Acephala ("non-heading") group remains most like the natural wild cabbage in appearance.

'Brassica' was Pliny the Elder's name for several cabbage-like plants.^[6]

Its specific epithet oleracea means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus).^[7][8]

Its uncultivated form, wild cabbage, native to coastal southern and western Europe, is a hardy plant with high tolerance for salt and lime. However, its intolerance of competition from other plants typically restricts its natural occurrence to limestone sea cliffs, like the chalk cliffs on both sides of the English Channel.^[9]

B. oleracea has become established as an important human food crop plant, used because of its large food reserves, which are stored over the winter in its leaves. It has been bred into a wide range of cultivars, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collards, and kale, some of which are hardly recognizable as being members of the same genus, let alone species.^[10] The historical genus of Crucifera, meaning "cross-bearing" in reference to the four-petaled flowers, may be the only unifying feature beyond taste.

Researchers believe it has been cultivated for several thousand years, but its history as a domesticated plant is not clear before Greek and Roman times, when it was a well-established garden vegetable. Theophrastus mentions three kinds of rhaphanos (ῤάφανος):^[11] a curly-leaved, a smooth-leaved, and a wild-type.^[12] He reports the antipathy of the cabbage and the grape vine, for the ancients believed cabbages grown near grapes would impart their flavour to the wine.^[13]

Through artificial selection for various phenotype traits, the emergence of variations of the plant with drastic differences in looks occurred over centuries. Preference for leaves, terminal bud, lateral bud, stem, and inflorescence resulted in selection of varieties of wild cabbage into the many forms known today.

• The preference for the eating of the leaves led to the selection of plants with larger leaves being harvested and their seeds planted for the next growth. Around the fifth century BC, the formation of what is now known as kale had developed.^[14]
• Preference led to further artificial selection of kale plants with more tightly bunched leaves, or terminal bud. Somewhere around the first century AD emerged the phenotype variation of B. oleracea known as cabbage.
• Phenotype selection preferences in Germany resulted in a new variation from the kale cultivar. By selecting for fatter stems, the variant plant known as kohlrabi emerged around the first century AD.
• European preference emerged for eating immature buds, selection for inflorescence. Early records in 15th century AD, indicate that early cauliflower and broccoli heading types were found throughout southern Italy and Sicily, although these types may not have been resolved into distinct cultivars until about 100 years later.^{[15][10][16][17]}
• Further selection in Belgium in lateral bud led to Brussels sprouts in the 18th century.

According to the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew Species Profiles)^[18] the species has eight cultivar groups. Each cultivar group has many cultivars, like 'Lacinato' kale or 'Belstar' broccoli.

• Acephala: non-heading cultivars (kale, collards, ornamental cabbage, ornamental kale, flowering kale, tree cabbage).
• Alboglabra: Asian Cuisine cultivars (Chinese kale, Chinese broccoli, gai lan, kai lan).
• Botrytis: cultivars that form compact inflorescences (broccoli, cauliflower, broccoflower, calabrese broccoli, romanesco broccoli).^[a]
• Capitata: cabbage and cabbage-like cultivars (cabbage, savoy cabbage, red cabbage).
• Gemmifera: bud-producing cultivars (sprouts, Brussels sprouts)
• Gongylodes: turnip-like cultivars (kohlrabi, knol-kohl)
• Italica: sprouts (purple sprouting broccoli, sprouting broccoli). Edible inflorescences not compacted into a single head.
• Tronchuda: low-growing annuals with spreading leaves (Portuguese cabbage, seakale cabbage).

A 2024 study compares 704 B. oleracea sequences and establishes a phylogenetic tree of cultivars. The authors find large-scale changes in gene expression and gene presence. Some genes are putatively linked to certain traits such as arrested inflorescence (typical of cauliflower and broccoli).^[20]

Cultivar	Image	Cultivar group (Kew)	Name (variety, form)
Wild cabbage		N/A	Brassica oleracea var. oleracea
Cabbage		Capitata	Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba
Savoy cabbage		Capitata	Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. sabauda
Red cabbage		Capitata	Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra
Cone cabbage		Capitata	Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. acuta
Gai lan		Alboglabra	Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra
Collard greens		Acephala	Brassica oleracea var. viridis
Jersey cabbage		Acephala	Brassica oleracea var. longata
Ornamental kale		Acephala	Brassica oleracea var. acephala
Kale		Acephala	Brassica oleracea var. sabellica
Lacinato kale		Acephala	Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia
Perpetual kale		Acephala	Brassica oleracea var. ramosa
Kalette		Hybrid	Brassica oleracea var. viridis x gemmifera
Marrow cabbage		Acephala	Brassica oleracea var. medullosa
Tronchuda kale		Tronchuda	Brassica oleracea var. costata
Brussels sprout		Gemmifera	Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera
Kohlrabi		Gongylodes	Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes
Broccoli		Botrytis[a]	Brassica oleracea var. italica
Cauliflower		Botrytis	Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Caulini		Botrytis	Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Romanesco broccoli		Botrytis	Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Broccoli di Torbole		Botrytis	Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Broccoflower		Hybrid (within Botrytis)	Brassica oleracea var. botrytis × italica
Broccolini		Hybrid	Brassica oleracea var. italica × alboglabra

The TAS2R38 gene encodes a G protein-coupled receptor that functions as a taste receptor, mediated by ligands such as PROP and phenylthiocarbamide that bind to the receptor and initiate signaling that confers various degrees of taste perception. Vegetables in the brassica family, such as collard greens, kale, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, contain glucosinolates and isothiocyanates, which resemble PROP, and therefore much of the perceived "bitterness" of these vegetables is mediated through TAS2R38.^{[dubious – discuss]} Bitter taste receptors in the TS2R family are also found in gut mucosal and pancreatic cells in humans and rodents. These receptors influence release of hormones involved in appetite regulation, such as peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1, and therefore may influence caloric intake and the development of obesity. Thus, bitter taste perception may affect dietary behaviors by influencing both taste preferences and metabolic hormonal regulation.^[21]

Three variants in the TAS2R38 gene – rs713598, rs1726866, and rs10246939 – are in high linkage disequilibrium in most populations and result in amino acid coding changes that lead to a range of bitter taste perception phenotypes. The PAV haplotype is dominant; therefore, individuals with at least one copy of the PAV allele perceive molecules in vegetables that resemble PROP as tasting bitter, and consequently may develop an aversion to bitter vegetables. In contrast, individuals with two AVI haplotypes are bitter non-tasters. PAV and AVI haplotypes are the most common, though other haplotypes exist that confer intermediate bitter taste sensitivity (AAI, AAV, AVV, and PVI). This taste aversion may apply to vegetables in general.^[21][22]

• Beckett, Emma (2014). "Bitter Taste Genetics – the Relationship to Tasting, Liking, Consumption and Health". Food & Function. 5 (12): 3040–54. doi:10.1039/C4FO00539B. hdl:1959.13/1298053. PMID 25286017.
• Boxer, E.E.; Garneau, N.L. (2015). "Rare haplotypes of the gene TAS2R38 confer bitter taste sensitivity in humans". SpringerPlus. 4: 505. doi:10.1186/s40064-015-1277-z. PMC 4574037. PMID 26405625.
• Bufe, B. (2005). "The Molecular Basis of Individual Differences in Phenylthiocarbamide and Propylthiouracil Bitterness Perception". Current Biology. 15 (4): 322–7. Bibcode:2005CBio...15..322B. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.01.047. PMC 1400547. PMID 15723792.
• Calancie, Larissa; et al. (2018). "TAS2R38 Predisposition to Bitter Taste Associated with Differential Changes in Vegetable Intake in Response to a Community-Based Dietary Intervention". G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 8 (6): 2107–2119. doi:10.1534/g3.118.300547. PMC 5982837. PMID 29686110.
• Duffy, V.B.; et al. (2010). "Vegetable Intake in College-Aged Adults Is Explained by Oral Sensory Phenotypes and TAS2R38 Genotype". Chemosensory Perception. 3 (3–4): 137–148. doi:10.1007/s12078-010-9079-8. PMC 3000691. PMID 21157576.
• Wieczorek, Martyna.; et al. (2018). "Bitter Taste of Brassica Vegetables: The Role of Genetic Factors, Receptors, Isothiocyanates, Glucosinolates, and Flavor Context". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 58 (18): 3130–3140. doi:10.1080/10408398.2017.1353478. PMID 28718657. S2CID 28896102.
• Rozengurt, E. "Taste Receptors in the Gastrointestinal Tract. I. Bitter taste receptors and α-gustducin in the mammalian gut". American Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. 7: 171–177.
• Roura, Eugeni; et al. (21 May 2015). "Variability in Human Bitter Taste Sensitivity to Chemically Diverse Compounds Can Be Accounted for by Differential TAS2R Activation". Chemical Senses. 40 (6): 427–35. doi:10.1093/chemse/bjv024. PMID 25999325.
• Risso, David; et al. (27 June 2016). "Erratum: Corrigendum: Global Diversity in the TAS2R38 Bitter Taste Receptor: Revisiting a Classic Evolutionary PROPosal". Scientific Reports. 6: 28406. doi:10.1038/srep28406. PMC 4921822. PMID 27346370.
• Mennella, Vito; et al. (20 February 2005). "Functionally Distinct Kinesin-13 Family Members Cooperate to Regulate Microtubule Dynamics during Interphase". Nature Cell Biology. 7 (3): 235–45. doi:10.1038/ncb1222. PMID 15723056. S2CID 6501199.
• Kim, U.K.; et al. (2005). "Genetics of individual differences in bitter taste perception: lessons from the PTC gene". Clinical Genetics. 67 (4): 275–80. doi:10.1111/j.1399-0004.2004.00361.x. PMID 15733260. S2CID 1639438.
• Kim, U.K.; et al. (2004). "Genetics of Human Taste Perception". Journal of Dental Research. 83 (6): 448–53. doi:10.1177/154405910408300603. PMID 15153450. S2CID 8801457.
• Khataan, Nora H.; et al. (2009). "TAS2R38 Genotypes and Phenylthiocarbamide Bitter Taste Perception in a Population of Young Adults". Journal of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics. 2 (4–5): 251–6. doi:10.1159/000297217. PMID 20484932. S2CID 45496712.
• Genick, U.K.; et al. (2011). "Sensitivity of genome-wide-association signals to phenotyping strategy: the PROP-TAS2R38 taste association as a benchmark". PLOS ONE. 6 (11): e27745. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...627745G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027745. PMC 3223210. PMID 22132133.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brassica oleracea.

• PROTAbase on Brassica oleracea (Brussels sprouts)
• PROTAbase on Brassica oleracea (cauliflower and broccoli)
• Video Overview of Brassica oleracea: from Untamed Science