花椰菜在全世界廣泛栽培。在臺灣，低溫造成紫花使花球失去商品價值。耐寒特性是花椰菜在臺灣和其他東亞洲國家的重要育種目標。近年來分子生物學進展快速，特別是在分子標記及基因轉殖技術開發方面。這些技術的開發有助於找到控制性狀的基因，並應用在特定性狀的選育上，不僅可以使育種材料之選汰有更容易及明確依據，且可以節省田間觀察與調查所需的時間。本研究不僅可以增加耐寒性相關基因的基礎研究，並可應用於分子輔助選育，加速耐寒品種選拔以提高育種效率。新品種可以延展此花椰菜的產期，增加市場效益和收益。
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is a cruciferous vegetable cultivated for its thickened edible white inflorescence. The optimum temperature for the growth of cauliflower plant is 20-25℃. Cauliflower is a vernalized plant, that is, its curd formation requires lower temperature treatment (18℃). Its production and curd quality are dramatically influenced by temperature. In Taiwan, the cauliflower curd is usually ready for harvest between November and April. However, strong continental air masses that arrive in winter and early spring would cause the white curd to turn into purple and thus become valueless in the market. Low temperatures trigger anthocyanin production and lead purple patches in cauliflower as the curd is near mature. Previous study indicated that four MYB transcription factors, BoMYB1~4, played key roles in anthocyanin formation in cauliflower curd. However, insufficient data are available on the function of BoMYB transcription factors on the cold induced anthocyanin formation. We used transcriptomic analysis to study the mechanism of low temperature induce broccoli purple flower formation, and used functional analysis to study the role of BoMYB1~4 in low temperature induce broccoli purple flower formation. Our study confirmed that anthocyanin synthesis-related genes were highly expressed in broccoli purple flower curds. And found that only BoMYB2 was highly expressed in low temperature-induced broccoli purple curds. We expected to know the contribution of BoMYB2 transcription factor to cauliflower anthocyanin accumulation under low temperature conditions, and to understand whether it affects the quality of cauliflower curds. In Taiwan and East Asian countries, breeding cold-tolerance cauliflower is an important goal for cauliflower curd production. Basic research on cold tolerance genes will assist in the breeding of cold-tolerant varieties. New varieties of cauliflower will extend the production period improve production efficiency, and thus increase profits.
