Morphological variation in five edible Capsicum species from Ecuador
Abstract
Morphological characterization provides a fundamental phenotypic basis for documenting, managing, and prioritizing plant genetic resources for subsequent breeding-oriented evaluation. This study characterized 74 edible Capsicum accessions conserved by the Ecuadorian National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIAP), representing C. annuum (n = 4), C. baccatum (n = 23), C. chinense (n = 26), C. frutescens (n = 17), and C. pubescens (n = 4). Twenty standardized IPGRI descriptors were recorded on five plants per accession under a common greenhouse environment, yielding 370 plant-level observations. Seven continuous descriptors were analyzed using descriptive statistics, hierarchical variance partitioning, repeatability of accession means, and standardized principal component analysis (PCA), whereas 13 categorical descriptors were examined through species-level profiles and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Plant-to-plant variation within accessions accounted for only 3.5–8.2% of total phenotypic variance across the seven continuous descriptors, resulting in high repeatability of accession means (R = 0.94–0.99). Notably, variation among accessions within species accounted for 57.1% of fruit-length variance and 61.2% of fruit-biomass variance, revealing substantial phenotypic diversity within species for breeding-relevant fruit traits. The first two PCA components explained 76.21% of standardized quantitative variance (PC1 = 47.67%; PC2 = 28.54%); fruit biomass, fruit width, and fruit wall thickness primarily defined PC1, whereas leaf width, leaf length, and pedicel length characterized PC2. Categorical descriptors provided complementary discrimination, particularly through floral, reproductive, and fruit traits. MCA revealed structured but partially overlapping species profiles, with C. frutescens showing a particularly distinctive categorical phenotype. Together, these results demonstrate that Ecuadorian Capsicum germplasm contains structured inter- and intraspecific morphological diversity and identify fruit-related and floral descriptors as useful criteria for prioritizing contrasting accessions for conservation and subsequent breeding-oriented evaluation. Because the study was conducted in a single unreplicated environment, the observed variation should be interpreted as phenotypic rather than exclusively genetic; molecular characterization and replicated multi-environment testing are required before inferring genetic divergence, trait stability, or breeding value.
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BibTeX
@article{corozoquinonez2026morphological,
title = {{Morphological variation in five edible Capsicum species from Ecuador}},
author = {Liliana Corozo-Quiñónez and Adriana Beatriz Sánchez-Urdaneta and Álvaro Monteros-Altamirano and Steven Felipe Muñoz Ponce and Héctor Vicente Loor Cedeño and Francisco Javier Arteaga-Alcívar and Luis Alberto Saltos-Rezabala and Rodomiro Ortiz and Miryan Pinoargote-Chang and Fátima Macías-Ponce and Daniel Alfredo Leal-Alvarado and Edisson Wilfrido Cuenca-Cuenca},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1984728},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1984728},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Morphological variation in five edible Capsicum species from Ecuador
AU - Liliana Corozo-Quiñónez
AU - Adriana Beatriz Sánchez-Urdaneta
AU - Álvaro Monteros-Altamirano
AU - Steven Felipe Muñoz Ponce
AU - Héctor Vicente Loor Cedeño
AU - Francisco Javier Arteaga-Alcívar
AU - Luis Alberto Saltos-Rezabala
AU - Rodomiro Ortiz
AU - Miryan Pinoargote-Chang
AU - Fátima Macías-Ponce
AU - Daniel Alfredo Leal-Alvarado
AU - Edisson Wilfrido Cuenca-Cuenca
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1984728
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1984728
AB - Morphological characterization provides a fundamental phenotypic basis for documenting, managing, and prioritizing plant genetic resources for subsequent breeding-oriented evaluation. This study characterized 74 edible Capsicum accessions conserved by the Ecuadorian National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIAP), representing C. annuum (n = 4), C. baccatum (n = 23), C. chinense (n = 26), C. frutescens (n = 17), and C. pubescens (n = 4). Twenty standardized IPGRI descriptors were recorded on five plants per accession under a common greenhouse environment, yielding 370 plant-level observations. Seven continuous descriptors were analyzed using descriptive statistics, hierarchical variance partitioning, repeatability of accession means, and standardized principal component analysis (PCA), whereas 13 categorical descriptors were examined through species-level profiles and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Plant-to-plant variation within accessions accounted for only 3.5–8.2% of total phenotypic variance across the seven continuous descriptors, resulting in high repeatability of accession means (R = 0.94–0.99). Notably, variation among accessions within species accounted for 57.1% of fruit-length variance and 61.2% of fruit-biomass variance, revealing substantial phenotypic diversity within species for breeding-relevant fruit traits. The first two PCA components explained 76.21% of standardized quantitative variance (PC1 = 47.67%; PC2 = 28.54%); fruit biomass, fruit width, and fruit wall thickness primarily defined PC1, whereas leaf width, leaf length, and pedicel length characterized PC2. Categorical descriptors provided complementary discrimination, particularly through floral, reproductive, and fruit traits. MCA revealed structured but partially overlapping species profiles, with C. frutescens showing a particularly distinctive categorical phenotype. Together, these results demonstrate that Ecuadorian Capsicum germplasm contains structured inter- and intraspecific morphological diversity and identify fruit-related and floral descriptors as useful criteria for prioritizing contrasting accessions for conservation and subsequent breeding-oriented evaluation. Because the study was conducted in a single unreplicated environment, the observed variation should be interpreted as phenotypic rather than exclusively genetic; molecular characterization and replicated multi-environment testing are required before inferring genetic divergence, trait stability, or breeding value.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -