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How do different color forms originate?

kentishman

kentishman

Several of the popular chiles come in different colors. For example, Bhut Jolokias come in orange, yellow, and chocolate. How do the different color forms originate?
 
But for real. Originally they were one color. Geographic locations and selective breeding brought out other colors. If you look real close at nearly all the brown(chocolate) pods they are a very deep red. Maybe the darker red plants survived a little better in one local than the bright reds. Same goes for light pods. Recently as with the Bhuts cross breeding and stabilization is what brings out different colors. Red Bhut crossed with a Chocolate Hab and selective breeding from there give Chocolate pods shaped like Bhuts.
 
from some book.
The Guajillo variety is the most frequently used in the
Mexican colourant industries due to its low capsaicin content. About 20 carotenoids contribute
to the Cczpsic~/lt2 pod colour and to the colour ~alue of paprika powder and oleoresin (Harkay,
1974). The kerocarotenoids, capsanthin and capsorubin (Figure 6.2) are unique CN]ISIL.II~II'
carotenoids. The major red colour in paprika comes from the carorenoids capsanthin, capsanrhin
j,6-epoxide and capsorubin, nrhile the yellow colour is from p-carotene, zeaxanthin, \rioloxan-
thin. antheroxanthin, p-cryptoxanthin and cucurbitaxanthin A (Reeves, 1987). Yellow colour
constituents act as a precursor for red colour.
Capsanthln, the major carotenoid in ripe fruits, contributes up to 60% of the total
carotenoids. Capsanthin and capsorubin increase proportionally with advanced stages of
ripeness, with capsanthin being the more stable of the two. The arnount of carotenoids in fruit
tissue depends on factors s~lch as cultivar, maturity stage and growing conclitions (Kanner rt '?/.,
1977). The majority of carotenoids are tetrapenes, formed from the joining of eight molecules of
isoprene via the divalent unit. Difference in carorenoid structure is based on the structural
alterations in one or both halves of the molecule, which inclucles biocl~emical reactions such as
hydrogenation, clel~yclroge~~atio~~, cyclization, acidition of oxygen in mrious forms, hyclroxyla-
tion, epoxidation, double bond migration, methyl migration, chain elongation and chain short-
ening. All the carotenoids present in the Cap~.iaiuz sp. are Clo isoprenoids containing nine
conjugated clouble-bonds in the central polyenic chain.
Click to expand...

i guess different plants express the genes that produce those caretonids in different quantities. less red in one... more yellow etc. i dont know if its accurate to say its a mutation... id suggest they are traits.

but really, who the crap knows. certainly not me.

edit: bolded the pertinent stuff
 
Thanks everyone for the technical stuff. So, from a practical standpoint, let's say someone is growing an orange chile and the plant produces a different colored pod. So they select it and grow it out, and over time the new color form becomes stable. Is that the jist of it?
 
The color of pepper pods comes from carotenoids (red, yellow and pale yellow) , from xanthenes (blue, purple) and from chlorophyll (green)

Immature pods normally are green, that comes from chlorophyll

If a pod ripenes carotenoids are produced, whereas chlorophyll breaks down

If chlorophyll remains stable during maturation it comes to the mixture of red+green colors = brown pods or yellow + green colors = green pods

All these colors are the result of what is called "secundary metabolism" = systems of enzymes and regulators.

If i.e. it comes to genetic mutation in the carotenoid synthesis system, shorter chains of carotenoids are produced, leading to a color change from red to yellow or from yellow to pale yellow (sometimes called white)

Mutations leading to color change are stable from the first generation on, so in contrast to a normal hybrid, there is no need to stabilize the new variety of a period of generations.

Peter
 
kentishman said:
Thanks everyone for the technical stuff. So, from a practical standpoint, let's say someone is growing an orange chile and the plant produces a different colored pod. So they select it and grow it out, and over time the new color form becomes stable. Is that the jist of it?
Click to expand...

That would be the process for crossing to varieties, and growing them out, yes :). However if there were a genetic mutation, then (as peter said) the seed from that pod will grow true.

hybrids are difficult and time consuming to grow out. they can take as long as 8 years depending on your setup, and how long it takes you to grow 8 generations of plants in succession.
 
semillas said:
Mutations leading to color change are stable from the first generation on, so in contrast to a normal hybrid, there is no need to stabilize the new variety of a period of generations.
Click to expand...

Why would it be stable from the first generation on?
 
I've had multiple variations in color on my Naga Morich's this year. Red, orange and brown. They didn't start out those colors in the beginning of the year but changed towards the end. It's really cool.
 
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