Why are Chiles Hot? An Integrative Exploration of Secondary Metabolite Function in Ripe Fruit

智利为什么这么热？

• 批准号: 0129168
• 负责人: Douglas Levey
• 金额: $ 32.24万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-03-15 至 2006-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0129168&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Why; Chiles; Hot; Integrative; Exploration

Non-technical summary of "Why are chiles hot? An integrative exploration of secondary metabolite function in ripe fruit"Doug Levey and Joshua TewksburyUniversity of FloridaIt is well known that the pungent compound in chile fruits, capsaicin, has many physiological effects in humans. Although it is widely used in medicine and is one of the most important spices in the world, the evolutionary basis for capsaicin remains mysterious. Why and how did the compound evolve? Is its function secondary (non-adaptive) or can its presence in chiles be explained by selective pressures of frugivores? Because similar secondary compounds are common in other fruits, our work will simultaneously address a long-standing paradox: Why do many plants place compounds in ripe fruit that are apparently toxic to fruit-eating animals? Six hypotheses for the role of secondary metabolites in ripe fruit, using chiles and capsaicin as a model system will be tested. The work will entail laboratory trials with captive frugivores and field studies on two chile species that are widely separated geographically and phylogenetically. One occurs in Arizona, the other in Boliva. In Boliva, a variety is available that is non-pungent (i.e., it lacks capsaicin). By comparing consumption of pungent and non-pungent chiles by a wide diversity of frugivores, from microbes to vertebrates, we will be able to determine the effect of capsaicin on frugivore behavior. Parallel studies will use artificial fruits made with and without capsaicin. These experiments will lead to a better understanding of capsaicin's evolutionary function and will pave the way for potential applications of capsaicin in human health, pest management, food storage, and chile cultivation.

非技术摘要：“为什么辣椒热？对成熟果实中的次生代谢物功能的综合探索” Doug Levey和Floridait的Joshua Tewksburyuniversity众所周知，辣椒水果中的辛辣化合物，辣椒素，辣椒素具有许多生理作用。 尽管它被广泛用于医学，并且是世界上最重要的香料之一，但辣椒素的进化基础仍然神秘。 为什么以及如何发展？ 它的功能是次要的（非自适应）还是可以通过节俭的选择性压力来解释辣椒中的存在？ 由于类似的二级化合物在其他水果中很常见，因此我们的工作将同时解决一个长期存在的悖论：为什么许多植物将化合物放在显然对食肉动物有毒的成熟水果中？将测试使用辣椒和辣椒素作为模型系统中二级代谢物在成熟果实中的作用的六个假设。 这项工作将需要进行实验室试验，并对两种智利物种进行俘虏和现场研究，这些智利在地理和系统发育上广泛分离。 一个发生在亚利桑那州，另一个发生在波利瓦。 在玻利瓦（Boliva），可以使用一种非习惯（即缺乏辣椒素）。 通过比较从微生物到脊椎动物的各种各样的节食剂对刺激性和非肺部辣椒的消费，我们将能够确定辣椒素对肉排行为的影响。 平行研究将使用有和没有辣椒素的人工水果。 这些实验将使人们更好地了解辣椒素的进化功能，并为辣椒素在人类健康，有害生物管理，食物储存和智利种植中的潜在应用铺平道路。