2012 Volume 11 Issue 3 Pages 411-416
A sweet pepper, ‘Manganji’, is a local variety in Kyoto. However, fruits with pungency are frequently produced depending on the environmental conditions, e.g., high temperature or water stress. Previous studies reported that the complete lack of pungency was controlled by a single recessive gene. In this study, we developed a molecular marker (SCY-800) linked to this locus. A continuous backcross [(a bell pepper variety ‘Tongari’ × ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 1’) × ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 1’] with the help of marker-assisted selection was carried out in order to develop a novel non-pungent variety, ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 2’, by transferring the recessive gene to the original variety ‘Manganji’. In the new variety, pungent fruits were not observed at all in two different fields throughout two years. Other undesirable fruit characters (anthocyanin accumulation at pericarp, short fruit length, etc.) were found at very low frequencies as compared to ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 1’. Overall, our new variety, ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 2’, would be useful for the production of non-pungent pepper in Kyoto.
