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Several environmental and genetic factors affect the isoflavone and anthocyanin contents in soybeans. This study aimed to assess the influences of cotyledon color and harvest period on the contents of five major isoflavones and three major anthocyanins in 323 black soybean landraces grown in Korea. In all the soybeans, malonylgenistin, malonyldaidzin and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside were the foremost components. The total isoflavone (TIC) and total anthocyanin (TAC) contents were in the ranges of 491.29-1998.39 μg/g and 452.60-2789.37 mg/100 g on dry weight basis, respectively. Both the average TIC and TAC were higher in green cotyledon soybeans (1493.93 μg/g and 1656.05 mg/100 g, respectively) than in yellow cotyledon soybeans (1423.09 μg/g and 1489.30 mg/100 g, respectively). With respect to the harvest period, the average TIC was in the order of Late-October (1517.31 μg/g) > Mid-October (1454.54 μg/g) > Early-October (1340.95 μg/g). Moreover, the average TAC decreased in the order of Late-October (1765.76 mg/100 g) > Mid-October (1503.93 mg/100 g) > Early-October (1350.91 mg/100 g). In general, cotyledon color appeared to cause a significant variation on TAC (P 1800 μg/g) and TAC (> 2000 mg/100 g) in their seeds and hence, could be considered as important sources of dietary isoflavones and anthocyanins. Besides, they possibly provide a wide spectrum of options if considered during the development of improved soybean genotypes.

Seed weight is regulated by several genes which in turn could affect the metabolite contents, yield, and quality of soybean seeds. Due to these, seed weight is receiving much attention in soybean breeding. In this study, seeds of 24 black soybean varieties and a reference genotype were grown in Korea, and grouped as small ( 24 g) seeds based on their seed weight. The contents of six anthocyanins, twelve isoflavones, and total phenolic, and the antioxidant activities were determined, and the association of each with seed weight was analyzed. The total anthocyanin (TAC) and total isoflavone (TIC) contents were in the ranges of 189.461–2633.454 mg/100 g and 2.110–5.777 mg/g, respectively and were significantly different among the black soybean varieties. By comparison, the average TAC and TIC were the highest in large seeds than in small and medium seeds while the total phenolic content (TPC) was in the order of small seeds > large seeds > medium seeds. Besides, large seeds showed the maximum 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity, whereas small seeds showed the maximum ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical (ABTS) scavenging activities. FRAP activity was positively associated with TIC and TAC, the former association being significant. On the other hand, ABTS and DPPH activities were positively correlated to TPC, the later association being significant. Overall, our findings demonstrated the influence of seed weight on anthocyanin, isoflavone, and phenolic contents and antioxidant activities in black soybeans. Besides, the dominant anthocyanins and isoflavones were the principal contributors to the variations observed in the black soybean varieties, and hence, these components could be selectively targeted to discriminate a large population of black soybean genetic resources.

Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.), is one of the major yield losing fungal disease in both pre- and post-harvest stage of pepper (Capsicum spp.) production worldwide. Among the Colletotrichum spp., C. acutatum has strong pathogenicity, which infects both immature and mature pepper fruit leads to severe economic losses in pepper production. Inheritance of anthracnose disease resistance was evaluated with 3738 pepper genetic resources which was collected from different countries and conserved at Korean genebank. The resistance analysis against pepper anthracnose (C. acutatum) was performed on detached mature green and red fruits under laboratory conditions by spray (non-wounding) and microinjection (wounding) inoculation methods. In the primary screening, about 261 accessions were appeared to be resistant against C. acutatum in spray inoculation. The resistant accessions were further evaluated with microinjection (wounding) inoculation method using the fungal (C. acutatum) isolate of pepper anthracnose. There were highly significant differences in the disease severity and distribution of disease rating scale, considering all the sources has significant genetic variation. Finally, the anthracnose resistant pepper accessions have been validated with cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) and high-resolution melting (HRM) markers in which, the CAPS and HRM marker analysis showed four types of genotypes such as resistant (R), susceptible (S), heterozygous (H) and Unidentified type (UT) or not detection. The Capsicum accessions showing high level of resistance to the pathogen could be used as source material in breeding programs for resistance to anthracnose disease.

Sclerotinia rot and Phytophthora blight are devastating diseases of perilla that can cause huge loss of perilla production. Screening disease resistant genetic resources is necessary to develop disease-resistant cultivars and conduct related research. The objective of this study was to find suitable inoculation methods for screening of Sclerotinia rot and Phytophthora blight in perilla germplasm. Three different inoculation methods [i.e., detached leaf (agar plug placed on start point of vein, 1/3 point of leaf vein & front side, back side), stem tip, and soil drenching] with three-growth stages (two, four & six-leaf stage) at two different temperatures (20 & 25°C) were assayed for their effectiveness for screening using IT 229019 & Sang-yeop perilla germplasm. Based on disease lesion, 20°C in two-leaf stage with detached leaf method (start point of vein) was found to be an efficient method for screening of Sclerotinia rot whereas 25°C in two-leaf stage with stem tip was an effective method for screening of Phytophthora blight in perilla germplasm. However, stem tip method was laborious as it required more time. Therefore, detached leaf method (start point of vein & back side) was a simple and rapid method that could be preferably used for screening of Sclerotinia rot and Phytophthora blight in perilla germplasm.

In this study, 54 soybean germplasms of different seed coat colors originated from America, China, Japan, and Korea were cultivated in Korea and analyzed for the contents of total oil, total protein, total phenolic, five fatty acids, and five isoflavones, and antioxidant activities using three assays. The soybeans showed significant variations (p 0.05) of metabolite contents and antioxidant activities. Origin and seed coat color exhibited a slight or insignificant effect on total protein and total oil contents. In contrast, origin and seed coat color significantly affected the concentration of individual and total isoflavones, and total phenolics, with few exceptions. Whereas fatty acids were significantly affected by origin, seed coat color provided better information regarding the variations in antioxidant capacities. Together, multivariate and correlation analyses revealed important associations between biosynthetically-related metabolites. In general, origin and seed coat color differently influenced the concentration of different classes of metabolites and antioxidant activities.

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an economically important horticultural crop with abundant morphological and genetic variability. Complex genetic variations exist even among melon varieties and remain unclear to date. Therefore, unraveling the genetic variability among the three different melon varieties, muskmelon (C. melo subsp. melo), makuwa (C. melo L. var. makuwa), and cantaloupes (C. melo subsp. melo var. cantalupensis), could provide a basis for evolutionary research. In this study, we attempted a systematic approach with genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS)-derived single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to reveal the genetic structure and diversity, haplotype differences, and marker-based varieties differentiation. A total of 6406 GBS-derived SNPs were selected for the diversity analysis, in which the muskmelon varieties showed higher heterozygote SNPs. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay varied significantly among the three melon varieties, in which more rapid LD decay was observed in muskmelon (r2 = 0.25) varieties. The Bayesian phylogenetic tree provided the intraspecific relationships among the three melon varieties that formed, as expected, individual clusters exhibiting the greatest genetic distance based on the posterior probability. The haplotype analysis also supported the phylogeny result by generating three major networks for 48 haplotypes. Further investigation for varieties discrimination allowed us to detect a total of 52 SNP markers that discriminated muskmelon from makuwa varieties, of which two SNPs were converted into cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence markers for practical use. In addition to these markers, the genome-wide association study identified two SNPs located in the genes on chromosome 6, which were significantly associated with the phenotypic traits of melon seed. This study demonstrated that a systematic approach using GBS-derived SNPs could serve to efficiently classify and manage the melon varieties in the genebank.

Pepper (Capsicum spp.) fruit-related traits are critical determinants of quality. These traits are controlled by quantitatively inherited genes for which marker-assisted selection (MAS) has proven insufficiently effective. Here, we evaluated the potential of genomic selection, in which genotype and phenotype data for a training population are used to predict phenotypes of a test population with only genotype data, for predicting fruit-related traits in pepper. We measured five fruit traits (fruit length, fruit shape, fruit width, fruit weight, and pericarp thickness) in 351 accessions from the pepper core collection, including 229 Capsicum annuum, 48 Capsicum baccatum, 48 Capsicum chinense, 25 Capsicum frutescens, and 1 Capsicum chacoense in 4 years at two different locations and genotyped these accessions using genotyping-by-sequencing. Among the whole core collection, considering its genetic distance and sexual incompatibility, we only included 302 C. annum complex (229 C. annuum, 48 C. chinense, and 25 C. frutescens) into further analysis. We used phenotypic and genotypic data to investigate genomic prediction models, marker density, and effects of population structure. Among 10 genomic prediction methods tested, Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) produced the highest prediction accuracies (measured as correlation between predicted values and observed values) across the traits, with accuracies of 0.75, 0.73, 0.84, 0.83, and 0.82 for fruit length, fruit shape, fruit width, fruit weight, and pericarp thickness, respectively. Overall, prediction accuracies were positively correlated with the number of markers for fruit traits. We tested our genomic selection models in a separate population of recombinant inbred lines derived from two parental lines from the core collection. Despite the large difference in genetic diversity between the training population and the test population, we obtained moderate prediction accuracies of 0.32, 0.34, 0.50, and 0.48 for fruit length, fruit shape, fruit width, and fruit weight, respectively. This use of genomic selection for fruit-related traits demonstrates the potential use of core collections and genomic selection as tools for crop improvement.

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a non-seasonal, economically important, cucurbit cultivated throughout the world, with Asia as a continent contributing the most. As part of the effort to diversify watermelon genetic resources in the already cultivated group, this study was devoted to providing baseline data on morphological quality traits and health-beneficial phytonutrients of watermelon germplasm collections, thereby promoting watermelon research and cultivation programs. To this end, we reported morphological traits, citrulline, and arginine levels of watermelon genetic resources obtained from the gene bank of Agrobiodiversity Center, Republic of Korea, and discussed the relationships between each. Diverse characteristics were observed among many of the traits, but most of the genetic resources (&gt, 90%) were either red or pink-fleshed. Korean originated fruits contained intermediate levels of soluble solid content (SSC) while the USA, Russian, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Taiwan, and Uruguay originated fruits had generally the highest levels of soluble solids. The citrulline and arginine contents determined using the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method ranged from 6.9 to 52.1 mg/g (average, 27.3 mg/g) and 1.8 to 21.3 mg/g (average, 9.8 mg/g), respectively. The citrulline content determined using the Citrulline Assay Kit ranged from 6.5 to 42.8 mg/g (average, 27.0 mg/g). Resources with high citrulline and arginine levels contained low SSC, whereas red- and pink-colored flesh samples had less citrulline compared to yellow and orange.

Phytophthora capsici (Leon.) is a globally prevalent, devastating oomycete pathogen that causes root rot in pepper (Capsicum annuum). Several studies have identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying resistance to P. capsici root rot (PcRR). However, breeding for pepper cultivars resistant to PcRR remains challenging due to the complexity of PcRR resistance. Here, we combined traditional QTL mapping with GWAS to broaden our understanding of PcRR resistance in pepper. Three major-effect loci (5.1, 5.2, and 5.3) conferring broad-spectrum resistance to three isolates of P. capsici were mapped to pepper chromosome P5. In addition, QTLs with epistatic interactions and minor effects specific to isolate and environment were detected on other chromosomes. GWAS detected 117 significant SNPs across the genome associated with PcRR resistance, including SNPs on chromosomes P5, P7, and P11 that colocalized with the QTLs identified here and in previous studies. Clusters of candidate nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) and receptor-like kinase (RLK) genes were predicted within the QTL and GWAS regions; such genes often function in disease resistance. These candidate genes lay the foundation for the molecular dissection of PcRR resistance. SNP markers associated with QTLs for PcRR resistance will be useful for marker-assisted breeding and genomic selection in pepper breeding.

Glucosinolates (GSLs) are sulfur-containing secondary metabolites naturally occurring in Brassica species. The purpose of this study was to identify the GSLs, determine their content, and study their accumulation patterns within and between leaves of kimchi cabbage (Brassica rapa L.) cultivars. GSLs were analyzed using UPLC-MS/MS in negative electron-spray ionization (ESI-) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The total GSL content determined in this study ranged from 621.15 to 42434.21 &mu, molkg-1 DW. Aliphatic GSLs predominated, representing from 4.44% to 96.20% of the total GSL content among the entire samples. Glucobrassicanapin (GBN) contributed the greatest proportion while other GSLs such as glucoerucin (ERU) and glucotropaeolin (TRO) were found in relatively low concentrations. Principal component analysis (PCA) yielded three principal components (PCs) with eigenvalues &ge, 1, altogether representing 74.83% of the total variation across the entire dataset. Three kimchi cabbage (S/No. 20, 4, and 2), one leaf mustard (S/No. 26), and one turnip (S/No. 8) genetic resources were well distinguished from other samples. The GSL content varied significantly among the different positions (outer, middle, and inner) of the leaves and sections (top, middle, bottom, green/red, and white) within the leaves. In most of the samples, higher GSL content was observed in the proximal half and white sections and the middle layers of the leaves. GSLs are regarded as allelochemicals, hence, the data related to the patterns of GSLs within the leaf and between leaves at a different position could be useful to understand the defense mechanism of Brassica plants. The observed variability could be useful for breeders to develop Brassica cultivars with high GSL content or specific profiles of GSLs.

Plant mitochondrial genomes characteristically contain extensive structural variation that can be used to define and classify cytoplasm types. We developed markers based on structural variation in the mitochondrial genomes of fertile and cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) pepper lines and applied them to a panel of Capsicum accessions. We designed a total of 20 sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers based on DNA rearrangement junctions or cytoplasm-specific segments that did not show high similarity to any nuclear mitochondrial DNA segments. We used those markers to classify the mitotypes of 96 C. annuum accessions into 15 groups. Precise genotyping of other Capsicum species (C. frutescens, C. chinense, and C. baccatum) was hampered because of various stoichiometric levels of marker amplicons. We developed a multiplex PCR system based on four of the markers that efficiently classified the C. annuum accessions into five mitotype groups. Close relationships between specific mitotypes and morphological phenotypes implied that diversification or domestication of C. annuum germplasm might have been accompanied by structural rearrangements of mitochondrial DNA or the selection of germplasms with specific mitotypes. Meanwhile, CMS lines shared the same amplification profile of markers with another mitotype. Further analysis using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or insertions and deletions (InDels) and CMS-specific open reading frames (orfs) provided new information about the origin of the CMS-specific mitotype and evaluation of candidates for CMS-associated genes, respectively.

Bacterial wilt of tomatoes caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a devastating disease that limits the production of tomato in Korea. The best way to control this disease is using genetically resistant tomato plant. The resistance degree to R. solanacearum was evaluated for 285 tomato accessions conserved in the National Agrobiodiversity Center of Rural Development Administration. These accessions of tomato were originated from 23 countries. Disease severity of tomato accessions was investigated from 7 days to 14 days at an interval of 7 days after inoculation of R. solanacearum under greenhouse conditions. A total of 279 accessions of tomato germplasm were susceptible to R. solanacearum, resulting in wilt and death in 70 to 90% of these plants. Two tomato accessions were moderately resistant to R. solanacearum. Only four accessions showed high resistance against R. solanacearum. No distinct symptom of bacterial wilt appeared on the resistant tomato germplasms for up to 14 days after inoculation of R. solanacearum. Microscopy of resistant tomato stems infected with R. solanacearum revealed limited bacterial spread with thickening of pit membrane and gum production. Therefore, these four resistant tomato germplasms could be used in tomato breeding program against bacterial wilt.

Summary Capsaicinoids are unique compounds produced only in peppers (Capsicum spp.). Several studies using classical quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping and genomewide association studies (GWAS) have identified QTLs controlling capsaicinoid content in peppers; however, neither the QTLs common to each population nor the candidate genes underlying them have been identified due to the limitations of each approach used. Here, we performed QTL mapping and GWAS for capsaicinoid content in peppers using two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations and one GWAS population. Whole‐genome resequencing and genotyping by sequencing (GBS) were used to construct high‐density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) maps. Five QTL regions on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10 were commonly identified in both RIL populations over multiple locations and years. Furthermore, a total of 109 610 SNPs derived from two GBS libraries were used to analyse the GWAS population consisting of 208 C. annuum‐clade accessions. A total of 69 QTL regions were identified from the GWAS, 10 of which were co‐located with the QTLs identified from the two biparental populations. Within these regions, we were able to identify five candidate genes known to be involved in capsaicinoid biosynthesis. Our results demonstrate that QTL mapping and GBS‐GWAS represent a powerful combined approach for the identification of loci controlling complex traits.

This experiment was carried out to compare the morphological traits of 880 Korean soybean landraces from RDA genebank. Days to flowering were ranged from 51 to 104 days with an average of 74.4 days, days from flowering to maturity were ranged from 28 to 106 days with an average of 72.2 days, days from planting to maturity were ranged from 101 to 188 days with an average 146.6 days. Growth days were the shortest with 140.6 days in soybean landraces from Gangwon Province, and the longest with 152.8 days in those from Jeju Province. The 100 seed weight was ranged from 4.3 to 46.4 g with an average of 26.1 g, higher than other studies, relatively. The 100 seed weight was the lightest from Gyeongnam Province (22.7 g), and the heaviest from Chungnam Province (29.1 g). The highest percentage of seed coat color was black (52.4%), followed by yellow (28.5%). Landraces from Gyeongnam Province was the most yellow seed coat with 50.7%, seed coat color of those from Jeju was similar proportion in yellow (33.3%), green (25.9%) and black one (40.7%), and that from Gyeonggi was more green (28.8%) than yellow (16.7%). As a result of cotyledon color in 460 black seed was 59.7% with yellow, 40.1% with green. Three hundred fifty accessions of Korean soybean landraces were analyzed using 7 SSR markers. One hundred ten alleles were detected with a lowest 10 at the Satt307 and a highest 26 at the Satt173. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.71. Gene diversity was the highest in Jeju province while the lowest in Jeonnam.

Background Conservation of genetic diversity is an essential prerequisite for developing new cultivars with desirable agronomic traits. Although a large number of germplasm collections have been established worldwide, many of them face major difficulties due to large size and a lack of adequate information about population structure and genetic diversity. Core collection with a minimum number of accessions and maximum genetic diversity of pepper species and its wild relatives will facilitate easy access to genetic material as well as the use of hidden genetic diversity in Capsicum. Results To explore genetic diversity and population structure, we investigated patterns of molecular diversity using a transcriptome-based 48 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a large germplasm collection comprising 3,821 accessions. Among the 11 species examined, Capsicum annuum showed the highest genetic diversity (HE = 0.44, I = 0.69), whereas the wild species C. galapagoense showed the lowest genetic diversity (HE = 0.06, I = 0.07). The Capsicum germplasm collection was divided into 10 clusters (cluster 1 to 10) based on population structure analysis, and five groups (group A to E) based on phylogenetic analysis. Capsicum accessions from the five distinct groups in an unrooted phylogenetic tree showed taxonomic distinctness and reflected their geographic origins. Most of the accessions from European countries are distributed in the A and B groups, whereas the accessions from Asian countries are mainly distributed in C and D groups. Five different sampling strategies with diverse genetic clustering methods were used to select the optimal method for constructing the core collection. Using a number of allelic variations based on 48 SNP markers and 32 different phenotypic/morphological traits, a core collection ‘CC240’ with a total of 240 accessions (5.2 %) was selected from within the entire Capsicum germplasm. Compared to the other core collections, CC240 displayed higher genetic diversity (I = 0.95) and genetic evenness (J’ = 0.80), and represented a wider range of phenotypic variation (MD = 9.45 %, CR = 98.40 %). Conclusions A total of 240 accessions were selected from 3,821 Capsicum accessions based on transcriptome-based 48 SNP markers with genome-wide distribution and 32 traits using a systematic approach. This core collection will be a primary resource for pepper breeders and researchers for further genetic association and functional analyses. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-016-0452-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The amount of genetic variability of a species is essential for its survival and adaptation in different environments, and studies of genetic diversity using molecular markers are necessary to understand the genetic structure of a population and to orientate effective strategies of germplasm conservation. The aim of current study was to determine the SSR markers that can be used rapidly and reliably to evaluated the pepper of Bulgaria landraces, and applied the markers to assessment of introduce genetic diversity of the pepper germplasm. We used 22 polymorphic microsatellite markers to analysis of genetic diversity within 61 pepper collection of Bulgaria landraces germplasm, all SSR primers pairs produced 82 polymorphic and reproducible amplification fragments. Results showed a relatively low level of genetic diversity among pepper accessions from Bulgaria for both molecular and morphological markers. An average value of polymorphic information contents (PIC) were 0.334 with a range of 0.061 to 0.63. The mean values of observed (HO) and gene diversity (GD) were 0.383 and 0.154, respectively, indicating a considerable amount of polymorphism within this collection. A genetic distance-based phylogeny grouped into three distinct groups according to genetic difference among the accessions. An average day of flowering time was 56.9 days with a range of 48 to 65 days. The average of fruit length and width were 6.9cm with a range 2.6 to 13.9cm, and 1.9cm with a range 0.5 to 4.2cm, respectively.

In this study, total number of 1941 Capsicum accessions conserved at RDA Genebank was evaluated for their response to Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). These accessions were composed with 9 species originated from 89 countries, included 839 Capsicum annuum, 277 C. baccatum, 395 C. chinense, 343 C. frutescens, 49 C. pubescens, and other 38 wild pepper species (C. chacoense, C. galapagoense, etc.). Resistant to CMV was screened with the 240H02SP6 SNP marker related to the Cmr1 (Cucumber mosaic resistance 1). Eighty nine accessions of pepper germplasm were resistant to CMV based on the marker. One hundred sixty two accessions showed heterozygosity. One thousand two hundred seventy accessions were susceptible to CMV. Four hundred twenty accessions did not show distinction by 240H02SP6 marker. These 89 resistant pepper germplasm can be used in a pepper breeding program against CMV.

National Agrobiodiversity Center, National Academy of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration,Suwon 441-853, Korea(Received on October 5, 2012; Revised on December 13, 2012; Accepted on December 14, 2012)Fusarium wilt, caused by three races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, is one of the most importantdisease of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) worldwide. A total of 1,906 tomato accessions were screened for theresistance to Fusarium wilt using I-3 SNP marker and high resolution melting analysis. Results showed that97 accessions were homozygous resistant, 8 accessions were heterozygous resistant and 1,801 werehomozygous susceptible. Accessions containing resistance were identified in 65 accessions of S. lycopersicumvar. lycopersicum, 13 accessions of S. lycopericum var. cerasiform, 8 accessions of S. pimpinellifolium, 3accessions of S. habrochaites , 3 accessions of S. corneliomulleri , 1 accession of S. galapagense , 3 accessions of S.peruvianum, 1 accession of S. chilense. For accurate evaluation of the Fusarium wilt resistance, however,screening to race 1 and race 2 and bio-assay still remain to be evaluated.Keywords : Fusarium wilt, I-3, Resistant resources

Resistance of pepper (Capsicum spp.) to anthracnose (Colletotrichum acutatum) was evaluated during regeneration of Capsicum spp. in National Agrobiodiversity Center. Disease severity of 896 pepper accessions (430 accessions of C. annuum, 219 accessions of C. baccatum, 14 accessions of C. chacoense, 153 accessions of C. chinense, 70 accessions of C. frutescens, 2 accessions of C. pubescens, and unidentified 8 accessions) was investigated at 14 days after inoculation in 28 C humid chamber. Forty nine accessions of pepper germplasm were resistant to C. acutatum. Among them, nine accessions were highly resistant to C. acutatum without wounding spray inoculation. Four accessions belonged to the species C. baccatum, one accession to C. chacoense, and four accessions to C. frutescens. Forty two resistant candidate accessions were inoculated with pin-prick wounding using a syringe needle. Five accessions were resistant as a less than 3% of disease severity to C. acutatum with wounding inoculation 5 days after inoculation. All resistant accessions were C. baccatum. These five pepper germplasm might be used as breeding resources for the anthracnose resistance breeding program.

Premise of the study: We report the complete sequence of the chloroplast genome of Capsicum frutescens (Solanaceae), a species of chili pepper. Methods and Results: Using an Illumina platform, we sequenced the chloroplast genome of C. frutescens. The total length of the genome is 156,817 bp, and the overall GC content is 37.7%. A pair of 25,792-bp inverted repeats is separated by small (17,853 bp) and large (87,380 bp) single-copy regions. The C. frutescens chloroplast genome encodes 132 unique genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and eight ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Of these, seven genes are duplicated in the inverted repeats and 12 genes contain one or two introns. Comparative analysis with the reference chloroplast genome revealed 125 simple sequence repeat motifs and 34 variants, mostly located in the noncoding regions. Conclusions: The complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. frutescens reported here is a valuable genetic resource for Capsicum species.