044 Selection for Floret Glucoraphanin Concentration Among Inbred Broccoli
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. Italica Group) is a rich source of the aliphatic glucosinolate glucoraphanin. The glucoraphanin breakdown product, sulforaphane, has been shown to induce Phase II detoxication enzymes (e.g., Quinone Reductase) and has attracted attention as a potential chemoprotector against cancer. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the concentration of glucoraphanin in an array of diverse broccoli inbreds (doubled-haploids) largely derived from commercial germplasm and to determine if expression of glucoraphanin level in this initial evaluation is correlated with expression in a subsequent environment. In 1996, individual florets from single broccoli heads were sampled from 75 inbred lines grown in the field at Charleston, S.C., and glucoraphanin concentration was assayed. In this test, concentrations ranged from 0.04 to 2.94 μmol glucoraphanin per g fresh weight of florets and the mean concentration was 0.86. In 1997, a subset of 22 inbreds analyzed the first year were grown again in a replicated field trial. This inbred subset was made up of lines with diverse pedigrees and with high, low, or intermediate glucoraphanin concentrations. In this second year, glucoraphanin concentration had a range from 0.24 to 2.99 μmol per g fresh weight of florets and a mean of 1.37. Correlation of entry mean glucoraphanin concentration in 1997 with that in 1996 was positive (r = 0.79) and highly significant (P < 0.001) indicating that floret glucoraphanin concentration was relatively consistent between years. These observations provide evidence that floret glucoraphanin concentration has a significant genetic component.