Diversity Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh Ecotypes for Glucosinolates in Shoots and Seeds

Glucosinolates (CS) are important secondary plant metabolites present in several plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Although genotypic differences among a limited number of samples from a limited geographical range have been reported, there have been few studies exploring the variation from a wider genetic base. The objective of this study was to explore the genetic variation for GS in A. thaliana collected throughout the world. We screened 58 A. thaliana ecotypes collected from the geographic area of lat. 15 degrees N to lat. 59 degrees N and long. 137 degrees E to long. 123 degrees W. Elevation in these areas ranged from sea level to over 480 m. We believe that this study has covered a large geographical region and captured most of the available genetic variation in A. thaliana for GS. There was no geographical trend in A. thaliana shoot or seed tissue for GS concentration. Total shoot GS ranged from 1.1 to 52.8 mu mol.g(-1) dry weight (DW), averaging 9.3 mu Lmol.g(-1) DW among all ecotypes. Total seed GS ranged from 1.6 to 41.8 mu mol.g(-1) DW with an average of 16.8 mu mol.g(-1) DW among all ecotypes. Low and high GS-accumulating A. thaliana ecotypes identified in this study may provide a basis for further genetic analysis for GS metabolism. Information provided may also prove useful for improving concentrations of nutritionally beneficial GS in vegetable Brassicas.