Biochemistry and molecular biology of capsaicinoid biosynthesis: recent advances and perspectives

The most widely known characteristic of chili pepper fruits is their capacity to produce capsaicinoids, which are responsible for the pungent sensation. The capsaicinoids have several uses in different areas, such as the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and agronomic industries, among others. They are synth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant cell reports 2019-09, Vol.38 (9), p.1017-1030
Main Authors: Arce-Rodríguez, Magda Lisette, Ochoa-Alejo, Neftalí
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy
Biochemistry
Biology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biosynthesis
Biotechnology
Capsaicin
Cell Biology
Chain branching
External stimuli
Fruits
Genes
Genotypes
Leucine
Life Sciences
Molecular biology
Phenylalanine
Plant Biochemistry
Plant Sciences
Pungent principles
Review Article
Valine
Vanillylamine
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Summary:The most widely known characteristic of chili pepper fruits is their capacity to produce capsaicinoids, which are responsible for the pungent sensation. The capsaicinoids have several uses in different areas, such as the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and agronomic industries, among others. They are synthesized by the condensation of vanillylamine (derived from phenylalanine) with a branched-chain fatty acid (from valine or leucine precursors), and they generally accumulate in the placental tissue of the chili pepper fruits. The pungency grade depends on the genotype of the plant but is also affected by external stimuli. In recent years, new structural and regulatory genes have been hypothesized to participate in the capsaicinoid biosynthetic pathway. Moreover, the role of some of these genes has been investigated. Substantial progress has been made in discerning the molecular biology of this pathway; however, many questions remain unsolved. We previously reviewed some aspects of the biochemistry and molecular biology of capsaicinoid biosynthesis (Aza-González et al. Plant Cell Rep 30:695–706. Aza-González et al., Plant Cell Rep 30:695–706, 2011), and in this review, we describe advances made by different researchers since our previous review, including the contribution of omics to the knowledge of this pathway.
ISSN:0721-7714
1432-203X
DOI:10.1007/s00299-019-02406-0