LTR-retrotransposons Tnt1 and T135 markers reveal genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships of domesticated peppers

Optimized Pepper Target SNP-Seq Applied in Population Structure and Genetic Diversity Analysis of 496 Pepper (Capsicum spp.) Lines

Peppers are a major vegetable crop worldwide. With the completion of additional genome assemblies, a multitude of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be utilized for population structure and genetic diversity analysis. In this study, we used target SNP-sequencing as a new high-throughput sequencing technology, screening out 425 perfect SNPs for analyzing the genetic diversity and population structure among 496 pepper lines from five pepper species in China and abroad. The perfect SNP panel exhibited commendable discriminative ability, as indicated by the average values of polymorphism information content, observed heterozygosity, minor allele frequency, and genetic diversity, which were 0.346, 0.011, 0.371, and 0.449, respectively. Based on phylogenetic, population structure, and principal component analyses, 484 C. annuum lines were divided into four subpopulations according to the shape of fruit: blocky fruit, wide-horn fruit, narrow-horn fruit, and linear fruit. These subpopulations displayed clear clustering with minimal or no overlap. Moreover, F statistic (Fst) analysis revealed considerable distinctions among these subpopulations. Additionally, we established a set of 47 core SNPs that could effectively differentiate among all pepper lines. This core SNP set could precisely classify the C. annuum lines into four distinct fruit-shape groups. The blocky and narrow-horn fruit subpopulations displayed the lowest and highest genetic diversity, respectively. This study highlights the importance of fruit shape as a crucial trait in pepper breeding. Moreover, this work indicates the immense potential of optimized target SNP technology in the addition of foreground markers of important traits to improve molecular breeding efficiency, and demonstrates its broad application prospects in the genetic analysis and variety identification of peppers.

High genetic and epigenetic variation of transposable elements: Potential drivers to rapid adaptive evolution for the noxious invasive weed Mikania micrantha

Why invasive species can rapidly adapt to novel environments is a puzzling question known as the genetic paradox of invasive species. This paradox is explainable in terms of transposable elements (TEs) activity, which are theorized to be powerful mutational forces to create genetic variation. Mikania micrantha, a noxious invasive weed, in this sense provides an excellent opportunity to test the explanation. The genetic and epigenetic variation of 21 invasive populations of M. micrantha in southern China have been examined by using transposon display (TD) and transposon methylation display (TMD) techniques to survey 12 TE superfamilies. Our results showed that M. micrantha populations maintained an almost equally high level of TE-based genetic and epigenetic variation and they have been differentiated into subpopulations genetically and epigenetically. A similar positive spatial genetic and epigenetic structure pattern was observed within 300 m. Six and seven TE superfamilies presented significant genetic and epigenetic isolation by distance (IBD) pattern. In total, 59 genetic and 86 epigenetic adaptive TE loci were identified. Of them, 51 genetic and 44 epigenetic loci were found to correlate with 25 environmental variables (including precipitation, temperature, vegetation coverage, and soil metals). Twenty-five transposon-inserted genes were sequenced and homology-based annotated, which are found to be involved in a variety of molecular and cellular functions. Our research consolidates the importance of TE-associated genetic and epigenetic variation in the rapid adaptation and invasion of M. micrantha.

Full-length LTR retroelements in Capsicum annuum revealed a few species-specific family bursts with insertional preferences

Capsicum annuum is a species that has undergone an expansion of the size of its genome caused mainly by the amplification of repetitive DNA sequences, including mobile genetic elements. Based on information obtained from sequencing the genome of pepper, the estimated fraction of retroelements is approximately 81%, and previous results revealed an important contribution of lineages derived from Gypsy superfamily. However, the dynamics of the retroelements in the C. annuum genome is poorly understood. In this way, the present work seeks to investigate the phylogenetic diversity and genomic abundance of the families of autonomous (complete and intact) LTR retroelements from C. annuum and inspect their distribution along its chromosomes. In total, we identified 1151 structurally full-length retroelements (340 Copia; 811 Gypsy) grouped in 124 phylogenetic families in the base of their retrotranscriptase. All the evolutive lineages of LTR retroelements identified in plants were present in pepper; however, three of them comprise 83% of the entire LTR retroelements population, the lineages Athila, Del/Tekay, and Ale/Retrofit. From them, only three families represent 70.8% of the total number of the identified retroelements. A massive family-specific wave of amplification of two of them occurred in the last 0.5 Mya (GypsyCa_16; CopiaCa_01), whereas the third is more ancient and occurred 3.0 Mya (GypsyCa_13). Fluorescent in situ hybridization performed with family and lineage-specific probes revealed contrasting patterns of chromosomal affinity. Our results provide a database of the populations LTR retroelements specific to C. annuum genome. The most abundant families were analyzed according to chromosome insertional preferences, suppling useful tools to the design of retroelement-based markers specific to the species.

Reproductive compatibility in Capsicum is not necessarily reflected in genetic or phenotypic similarity between species complexes

Wild relatives of domesticated Capsicum represent substantial genetic diversity and thus sources of traits of potential interest. Furthermore, the hybridization compatibility between members of Capsicum species complexes remains unresolved. Improving our understanding of the relationship between Capsicum species relatedness and their ability to form hybrids is a highly pertinent issue. Through the development of novel interspecific hybrids in this study, we demonstrate interspecies compatibility is not necessarily reflected in relatedness according to established Capsicum genepool complexes. Based on a phylogeny constructed by genotyping using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and with a portion of the waxy locus, and through principal component analysis (PCA) of phenotypic data, we clarify the relationships among wild and domesticated Capsicum species. Together, the phylogeny and hybridization studies provide evidence for the misidentification of a number of species from the World Vegetable Center genebank included in this study. The World Vegetable Center holds the largest collection of Capsicum genetic material globally, therefore this may reflect a wider issue in the misidentification of Capsicum wild relatives. The findings presented here provide insight into an apparent disconnect between compatibility and relatedness in the Capsicum genus, which will be valuable in identifying candidates for future breeding programs.

Biological Properties, Bioactive Constituents, and Pharmacokinetics of Some Capsicum spp. and Capsaicinoids

Pepper originated from the Capsicum genus, which is recognized as one of the most predominant and globally distributed genera of the Solanaceae family. It is a diverse genus, consisting of more than 31 different species including five domesticated species, Capsicum baccatum, C. annuum, C. pubescen, C. frutescens, and C. chinense. Pepper is the most widely used spice in the world and is highly valued due to its pungency and unique flavor. Pepper is a good source of provitamin A; vitamins E and C; carotenoids; and phenolic compounds such as capsaicinoids, luteolin, and quercetin. All of these compounds are associated with their antioxidant as well as other biological activities. Interestingly, Capsicum fruits have been used as food additives in the treatment of toothache, parasitic infections, coughs, wound healing, sore throat, and rheumatism. Moreover, it possesses antimicrobial, antiseptic, anticancer, counterirritant, appetite stimulator, antioxidant, and immunomodulator activities. Capsaicin and Capsicum creams are accessible in numerous ways and have been utilized in HIV-linked neuropathy and intractable pain.

Target sequencing reveals genetic diversity, population structure, core-SNP markers, and fruit shape-associated loci in pepper varieties

BACKGROUND

The widely cultivated pepper (Capsicum spp.) is one of the most diverse vegetables; however, little research has focused on characterizing the genetic diversity and relatedness of commercial varieties grown in China. In this study, a panel of 92 perfect single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was identified using re-sequencing data from 35 different C. annuum lines. Based on this panel, a Target SNP-seq genotyping method was designed, which combined multiplex amplification of perfect SNPs with Illumina sequencing, to detect polymorphisms across 271 commercial pepper varieties.

RESULTS

The perfect SNPs panel had a high discriminating capacity due to the average value of polymorphism information content, observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, and minor allele frequency, which were 0.31, 0.28, 0.4, and 0.31, respectively. Notably, the studied pepper varieties were morphologically categorized based on fruit shape as blocky-, long horn-, short horn-, and linear-fruited. The long horn-fruited population exhibited the most genetic diversity followed by the short horn-, linear-, and blocky-fruited populations. A set of 35 core SNPs were then used as kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASPar) markers, another robust genotyping technique for variety identification. Analysis of genetic relatedness using principal component analysis and phylogenetic tree construction indicated that the four fruit shape populations clustered separately with limited overlaps. Based on STRUCTURE clustering, it was possible to divide the varieties into five subpopulations, which correlated with fruit shape. Further, the subpopulations were statistically different according to a randomization test and F_st statistics. Nine loci, located on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12, were identified to be significantly associated with the fruit shape index (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Target SNP-seq developed in this study appears as an efficient power tool to detect the genetic diversity, population relatedness and molecular breeding in pepper. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the genetic structure of Chinese pepper varieties is significantly influenced by breeding programs focused on fruit shape.

Genetic diversity and structure of Capsicum annuum as revealed by start codon targeted and directed amplified minisatellite DNA markers

BACKGROUND

Identification of high resolving DNA-based markers is of paramount importance to unlock the potential of genetic diversity and selection of unique accessions of Capsicum annuum L., within Cross River and Ebonyi States of Nigeria, for breeding and conservation. Therefore, we comparatively explored the effectiveness of start codon targeted (SCoT) and directed amplified minisatellite DNA (DAMD) markers for diversity analysis of the accessions. Fifteen accessions were collected for DNA extraction and amplifications with the markers.

RESULTS

Dendrograms from SCoT and DAMD categorized the accessions into five and three genetic groups, respectively, while the principal component analysis identified five genetic clusters, each from the markers. The average values of allele, gene diversity and polymorphic information content detected with SCoT and DAMD demonstrate that the two markers were effective and efficient, especially, SCoT in genetic diversity study of the accessions of pepper. Number of polymorphic loci (NPL) and percentage polymorphic loci (PPL) from SCoT (NPL = 64, PPL = 80.00-95.73%) and DAMD (NPL = 56, PPL = 53.33-86.67%) were high, but higher in SCoT markers. Other effective genetic parameters (effective number of alleles, Nei's genetic diversity and Shannon's information indices) identified with the two marker systems elucidated the allelic richness, rich genetic diversity within the populations and informative nature of the markers, especially SCoT. The intraspecific genetic diversity, interspecific genetic diversity, and coefficient of differentiation obtained with SCoT and DAMD further exposed the genetic structure with more genetic divergence within than among the populations of the accessions. Estimate of gene flow from the SCoT markers was 3.8375 and 0.6.2042 for the DAMD markers. The estimate of gene flow values from the markers indicated extensiveness with SCoT (Nm = 3.8375) and extremely extensive with DAMD (Nm = 6.2042) among the populations.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that SCoT markers may be more useful and informative than DAMD in measuring genetic diversity and differentiation of the accessions of the genus Capsicum. Genetic parameters obtained with SCoT showed that the accessions from Cross River were more genetically diverse than the ones from Ebonyi State. Therefore, SCoT may be a preferred marker in evaluating genetic diversity for improvement and conservation of this spicy crop, C. capsicum.

LTR-retrotransposons in plants: Engines of evolution

LTR retrotransposons are the most abundant group of transposable elements (TEs) in plants. These elements can fall inside or close to genes, and therefore influence their expression and evolution. This review aims to examine how LTR retrotransposons, especially Ty1-copia elements, mediate gene regulation and evolution. Various stimuli, including polyploidization and biotic and abiotic elicitors, result in the transcription and movement of these retrotransposons, and can facilitate adaptation. The presence of cis-regulatory motifs in the LTRs are central to their stress-mediated responses and are shared with host stress-responsive genes, showing a complex evolutionary history in which TEs provide new regulatory units to genes. The presence of retrotransposon remnants in genes that are necessary for normal gene function, demonstrates the importance of exaptation and co-option, and is also a consequence of the abundance of these elements in plant genomes. Furthermore, insertions of LTR retrotransposons in and around genes provide potential for alternative splicing, epigenetic control, transduction, duplication and recombination. These characteristics can become an active part of the evolution of gene families as in the case of resistance genes (R-genes). The character of TEs as exclusively selfish is now being re-evaluated. Since genome-wide reprogramming via TEs is a long evolutionary process, the changes we can examine are case-specific and their fitness advantage may not be evident until TE-derived motifs and domains have been completely co-opted and fixed. Nevertheless, the presence of LTR retrotransposons inside genes and as part of gene promoter regions is consistent with their roles as engines of plant genome evolution.

Ty1-copia elements reveal diverse insertion sites linked to polymorphisms among flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) accessions

BACKGROUND

Initial characterization of the flax genome showed that Ty1-copia retrotransposons are abundant, with several members being recently inserted, and in close association with genes. Recent insertions indicate a potential for ongoing transpositional activity that can create genomic diversity among accessions, cultivars or varieties. The polymorphisms generated constitute a good source of molecular markers that may be associated with phenotype if the insertions alter gene activity. Flax, where accessions are bred mainly for seed nutritional properties or for fibers, constitutes a good model for studying the relationship of transpositional activity with diversification and breeding. In this study, we estimated copy number and used a type of transposon display known as Sequence-Specific Amplification Polymorphisms (SSAPs), to characterize six families of Ty1-copia elements across 14 flax accessions. Polymorphic insertion sites were sequenced to find insertions that could potentially alter gene expression, and a preliminary test was performed with selected genes bearing transposable element (TE) insertions.

RESULTS

Quantification of six families of Ty1-copia elements indicated different abundances among TE families and between flax accessions, which suggested diverse transpositional histories. SSAPs showed a high level of polymorphism in most of the evaluated retrotransposon families, with a trend towards higher levels of polymorphism in low-copy number families. Ty1-copia insertion polymorphisms among cultivars allowed a general distinction between oil and fiber types, and between spring and winter types, demonstrating their utility in diversity studies. Characterization of polymorphic insertions revealed an overwhelming association with genes, with insertions disrupting exons, introns or within 1 kb of coding regions. A preliminary test on the potential transcriptional disruption by TEs of four selected genes evaluated in three different tissues, showed one case of significant impact of the insertion on gene expression.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that specific Ty1-copia families have been active since breeding commenced in flax. The retrotransposon-derived polymorphism can be used to separate flax types, and the close association of many insertions with genes defines a good source of potential mutations that could be associated with phenotypic changes, resulting in diversification processes.

Phylogenetic relationships, diversification and expansion of chili peppers (Capsicum, Solanaceae)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Capsicum (Solanaceae), native to the tropical and temperate Americas, comprises the well-known sweet and hot chili peppers and several wild species. So far, only partial taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses have been done for the genus. Here, the phylogenetic relationships between nearly all taxa of Capsicum were explored to test the monophyly of the genus and to obtain a better knowledge of species relationships, diversification and expansion.

METHODS

Thirty-four of approximately 35 Capsicum species were sampled. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference analyses were performed using two plastid markers (matK and psbA-trnH) and one single-copy nuclear gene (waxy). The evolutionary changes of nine key features were reconstructed following the parsimony ancestral states method. Ancestral areas were reconstructed through a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis.

KEY RESULTS

Capsicum forms a monophyletic clade, with Lycianthes as a sister group, following both phylogenetic approaches. Eleven well-supported clades (four of them monotypic) can be recognized within Capsicum, although some interspecific relationships need further analysis. A few features are useful to characterize different clades (e.g. fruit anatomy, chromosome base number), whereas some others are highly homoplastic (e.g. seed colour). The origin of Capsicum is postulated in an area along the Andes of western to north-western South America. The expansion of the genus has followed a clockwise direction around the Amazon basin, towards central and south-eastern Brazil, then back to western South America, and finally northwards to Central America.

CONCLUSIONS

New insights are provided regarding interspecific relationships, character evolution, and geographical origin and expansion of Capsicum A clearly distinct early-diverging clade can be distinguished, centred in western-north-western South America. Subsequent rapid speciation has led to the origin of the remaining clades. The diversification of Capsicum has culminated in the origin of the main cultivated species in several regions of South to Central America.

New insights into Capsicum spp relatedness and the diversification process of Capsicum annuum in Spain

The successful exploitation of germplasm banks, harbouring plant genetic resources indispensable for plant breeding, will depend on our ability to characterize their genetic diversity. The Vegetable Germplasm Bank of Zaragoza (BGHZ) (Spain) holds an important Capsicum annuum collection, where most of the Spanish pepper variability is represented, as well as several accessions of other domesticated and non-domesticated Capsicum spp from all over the five continents. In the present work, a total of 51 C. annuum landraces (mainly from Spain) and 51 accessions from nine Capsicum species maintained at the BGHZ were evaluated using 39 microsatellite (SSR) markers spanning the whole genome. The 39 polymorphic markers allowed the detection of 381 alleles, with an average of 9.8 alleles per locus. A sizeable proportion of alleles (41.2%) were recorded as specific alleles and the majority of these were present at very low frequencies (rare alleles). Multivariate and model-based analyses partitioned the collection in seven clusters comprising the ten different Capsicum spp analysed: C. annuum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, C. pubescens, C. bacatum, C. chacoense and C. eximium. The data clearly showed the close relationships between C. chinense and C. frutescens. C. cardenasii and C. eximium were indistinguishable as a single, morphologically variable species. Moreover, C. chacoense was placed between C. baccatum and C. pubescens complexes. The C. annuum group was structured into three main clusters, mostly according to the pepper fruit shape, size and potential pungency. Results suggest that the diversification of C. annuum in Spain may occur from a rather limited gene pool, still represented by few landraces with ancestral traits. This ancient population would suffer from local selection at the distinct geographical regions of Spain, giving way to pungent and elongated fruited peppers in the South and Center, while sweet blocky and triangular types in Northern Spain.

Whole-genome sequencing of cultivated and wild peppers provides insights into Capsicum domestication and specialization

As an economic crop, pepper satisfies people's spicy taste and has medicinal uses worldwide. To gain a better understanding of Capsicum evolution, domestication, and specialization, we present here the genome sequence of the cultivated pepper Zunla-1 (C. annuum L.) and its wild progenitor Chiltepin (C. annuum var. glabriusculum). We estimate that the pepper genome expanded ∼0.3 Mya (with respect to the genome of other Solanaceae) by a rapid amplification of retrotransposons elements, resulting in a genome comprised of ∼81% repetitive sequences. Approximately 79% of 3.48-Gb scaffolds containing 34,476 protein-coding genes were anchored to chromosomes by a high-density genetic map. Comparison of cultivated and wild pepper genomes with 20 resequencing accessions revealed molecular footprints of artificial selection, providing us with a list of candidate domestication genes. We also found that dosage compensation effect of tandem duplication genes probably contributed to the pungent diversification in pepper. The Capsicum reference genome provides crucial information for the study of not only the evolution of the pepper genome but also, the Solanaceae family, and it will facilitate the establishment of more effective pepper breeding programs.

Characterization of Capsicum annuum genetic diversity and population structure based on parallel polymorphism discovery with a 30K unigene Pepper GeneChip

The widely cultivated pepper, Capsicum spp., important as a vegetable and spice crop world-wide, is one of the most diverse crops. To enhance breeding programs, a detailed characterization of Capsicum diversity including morphological, geographical and molecular data is required. Currently, molecular data characterizing Capsicum genetic diversity is limited. The development and application of high-throughput genome-wide markers in Capsicum will facilitate more detailed molecular characterization of germplasm collections, genetic relationships, and the generation of ultra-high density maps. We have developed the Pepper GeneChip® array from Affymetrix for polymorphism detection and expression analysis in Capsicum. Probes on the array were designed from 30,815 unigenes assembled from expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Our array design provides a maximum redundancy of 13 probes per base pair position allowing integration of multiple hybridization values per position to detect single position polymorphism (SPP). Hybridization of genomic DNA from 40 diverse C. annuum lines, used in breeding and research programs, and a representative from three additional cultivated species (C. frutescens, C. chinense and C. pubescens) detected 33,401 SPP markers within 13,323 unigenes. Among the C. annuum lines, 6,426 SPPs covering 3,818 unigenes were identified. An estimated three-fold reduction in diversity was detected in non-pungent compared with pungent lines, however, we were able to detect 251 highly informative markers across these C. annuum lines. In addition, an 8.7 cM region without polymorphism was detected around Pun1 in non-pungent C. annuum. An analysis of genetic relatedness and diversity using the software Structure revealed clustering of the germplasm which was confirmed with statistical support by principle components analysis (PCA) and phylogenetic analysis. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of parallel high-throughput discovery and application of genome-wide transcript-based markers to assess genetic and genomic features among Capsicum annuum.

The application of LTR retrotransposons as molecular markers in plants

Retrotransposons are a major agent of genome evolution. Various molecular marker systems have been developed that exploit the ubiquitous nature of these genetic elements and their property of stable integration into dispersed chromosomal loci that are polymorphic within species. The key methods, SSAP, IRAP, REMAP, RBIP, and ISBP, all detect the sites at which the retrotransposon DNA, which is conserved between families of elements, is integrated into the genome. Marker systems exploiting these methods can be easily developed and inexpensively deployed in the absence of extensive genome sequence data. They offer access to the dynamic and polymorphic, nongenic portion of the genome and thereby complement methods, such as gene-derived SNPs, that target primarily the genic fraction.