Research genes to breed more spicy peppers

Scientists have sequenced the chili genome and discovered genes that make peppers spicy.

The image of this genome was published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences and was the basis for opening a new line of existing hot pepper varieties.

"These findings will be the basis for the development of molecular and agronomic studies, as well as help breeders accelerate in the creation of new varieties with molecular biology techniques , " co-authored. Research author Cheng Qin of Sichuan Agricultural University (China) shared.

Chili was planted by Native Americans in South America from 8,000 years ago, originating from a wild plant called Chiltepin annuum . The chilli and the surname are together with tomatoes and potatoes, and soon became popular in the world after Columbus arrived in America.

Photo: livescience.com

In recent years, chili peppers have used traditional breeding methods to increase capsaicin levels - the chili compound that makes hot peppers more spicy.

Some successful hybrids, such as Carolina Reaper and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, are about 100,000 times as hot as normal peppers, and researchers have calculated that about 2.7 pounds (about 1.2kg) of This kind of chili will be enough to kill a person. (A Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers contain capsaicin equivalent to a pepper spray).

To better understand peppers, Qin and colleagues churned out the gee of an academy cultivar called Zunla-1 as well as similar wild peppers. They found peppers branching off tomatoes and potatoes 36 million years ago. About 81% of the chili genome is made by transposons, or jumping genes, that can move from one place to another in the genome. These genes appeared from about 300,000 years ago.

They also scanned the genome of 18 chili varieties grown to compare the difference between wild peppers and chili peppers. The team found a number of genes linked to the duration of the dormant state, resistance to pests and germination.

The team also found a combination of genes behind the hot peppers. Spicy aromatherapy can duplicate several times to produce more or less capsaicin. Sweet peppers, on the other hand, have removed these spicy genes.

These findings set out two new ways to breed more hot peppers. One is to look for chili varieties with genes that make spicy taste and cross them together. Secondly, straighten the spicy gene into the tree to make many copies of them.