Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

How the cauliflower got its curlicues

More than 2,000 years of domestication have given the popular vegetable its short stem and clumpy ‘curds’.
Fresh organic white cauliflower cabbage with leaves on old rustic green table background, top view.

Scientists have identified three genes that helped the modern cauliflower to evolve from its broccoli progenitors. Credit: Getty

The tight spirals of the modern head of cauliflower were created by an estimated 2,500 years of domestication, with a few key genetic changes along the way, according to an analysis of hundreds of genomes from cauliflower and its relatives1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 629, 507 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01286-z

References

  1. Chen, R. et al. Nature Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01744-4 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links