Analysis of Non-pungency, Aroma, and Origin of a Capsicum chinense Cultivar from a Caribbean Island

Abstract

'No.80' (Capsicum chinense) from the Caribbean is a valuable genetic source from the aspect of its non-pungent and highly aromatic traits. In the present study, the non-pungency, volatile components, and phylogenetic origin of 'No.80' were analyzed with another C. chinense cultivar, 'No.2' from Brazil, which is also non-pungent but less aromatic. Expressions and deduced amino acid sequences of acyltransferase (Pun1) Based on these results, the approaches for breeding highly aromatic non-pungent cultivars are discussed.

Inheritance of Non-pungency in ‘No.3341’ (<i>Capsicum chinense</i>)

“…To validate this hypothesis, we screened Capsicum collections and identified a non-pungent pepper, 'No.3341' (C. chinense), as such a candidate in our preliminary research. In the present study, the inheritance of non- ) (Koeda et al, 2014), 'NMCA30036' is a non-pungent cultivar carrying the recessive allele of acyltransferase (Pun1; pun1 2 /pun1 2 ) (Stewart et al, 2007), and 'Habanero' is a pungent cultivar. …”

“…After the fruit had been freeze-dried, capsaicinoids were extracted and quantified according to the method described by Koeda et al (2014). The capsaicinoid content was calculated as the sum of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin.…”

“…Given that the pungency of pepper fruit is one of its most important traits, numerous studies have been conducted on it. In C. annuum L., C. chinense Jacq., C. frutescens L., and C. chacoense Hunz., recessive mutations of acyltransferase (Pun1) and putative aminotransferase (p-AMT) have been reported to be the genetic causes of loss of pungency (Koeda et al, 2014;Lang et al, 2009;Stellari et al, 2010;Stewart et al, 2005Stewart et al, , 2007Tanaka et al, 2010a, b). Considering the long history of Capsicum as a crop, it is strange that only mutations in Pun1 and p-AMT have been used for breeding non-pungent peppers.…”

A &lt;i&gt;Comt&lt;/i&gt;1 Loss of Function Mutation Is Insufficient for Loss of Pungency in &lt;i&gt;Capsicum&lt;/i&gt;

“…After the fruits were freeze-dried, the capsaicinoids were extracted and quantified according to the method described by Koeda et al [16]. Capsaicinoid content was calculated as the sum of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin.…”

“…Two recessive putative aminotransferase (p-AMT) alleles have been reported in the CH-19 Sweet and Himo nonpungent cultivars [12] [13]. In addition, a single recessive Pun1 allele has been reported for C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. chacoense [14], and four recessive p-AMT alleles have been reported for C. chinense [15] [16]. Although the capsaicinoid biosynthetic pathway involving specific enzymes and genes has been proposed, Figure 1.…”