Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is pivotal in plant breeding and widely employed in various crop hybrids, including pepper. However, the functional validation of the restorer of fertility (Rf) gene in pepper has been lacking until now. This study identifies and characterizes CaRf, a single dominant locus crucial for restoring CMS in the pepper strong recovery inbred line Zhangshugang. The CaRf gene encodes a mitochondria-targeted pentatricopeptide repeat protein, validated through the induction of male sterility upon its silencing in hybrid F1 plants. To enhance pepper breeding efficiency, 176 important pepper breeding parent materials were resequenced, and a PepperSNP50K liquid-phase breeding chip was developed, comprising 51 172 markers. Integration of CaRf functional characterization and PepperSNP50K facilitated the development of a high-quality red pepper hybrid. These findings provide significant insights and practical strategies for advancing molecular-designed breeding in peppers.

中文翻译：

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生育力恢复基因 CaRf 和 PepperSNP50K 为杂交辣椒提供了有前途的育种系统


细胞质雄性不育 （CMS） 在植物育种中起着关键作用，并广泛用于包括辣椒在内的各种作物杂交种。然而，到目前为止，辣椒中生育力恢复因子 （Rf） 基因的功能验证一直缺乏。本研究鉴定并表征了 CaRf，CaRf 是辣椒强恢复自交系张树港中恢复 CMS 的关键单一显性位点。CaRf 基因编码一种线粒体靶向的五肽重复蛋白，通过在杂交 F1 植物中沉默后诱导雄性不育来验证。为提高辣椒育种效率，对 176 种重要的辣椒育种亲本材料进行了重测序，并开发了包含 51 172 个标记的 PepperSNP50K 液相育种芯片。CaRf 功能表征和 PepperSNP50K 的整合促进了高质量红辣椒杂交体的开发。这些发现为推进辣椒分子设计育种提供了重要的见解和实用策略。