Culture de plantes MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF ADVANCED MUTANTS FOR EARLY DETECTION OF HIGH β-CAROTENE CONCETRATION IN PEPPER BREEDING PROGRAMMS

The Bulgarian orange-fruited mutant cultivar Oranzheva kapiya is characterized with a high content of the antioxidant β-carotene. To identify the mutation leading to the accumulation of β-carotene and develop a suitable molecular marker for this trait, the genes for geranyl-geranyl pyrophosphate synthase, capsanthin-capsorubin synthase and β-carotene hydroxylase were studied both in the mutant and in the parental cultivar – Pazardzhishka kapiya. Our results suggest that the gene for β-carotene hydroxylase in the cv. Oranzheva kapiya is affected by a mutation, as well as the polymorphism between initial and mutant plants in this locus could be used as a molecular marker in the breeding programmes towards high β-carotene content.