Overview

Piper, also known as pepper, is a climbing vine belonging to the genus Piperaceae. Its fruit is spherical, turning red when fully ripe and drying to black when immature. Pepper is commonly dried and used as a spice and condiment. The Compendium of Materia Medica states: "Pepper is named after its spiciness, resembling pepper." Pepper was introduced from India to Egypt and Europe over 3,000 years ago. Black pepper is known as the "king of spices", in history it has served as a currency-like role, that is, Li Shizhen said "to fill the tribute", can replace the use of land rent, can be circulated.

Geographical Distribution

Pepper originates from Southeast Asia and is currently cultivated extensively in tropical regions. Black pepper, in particular, has a long history of culinary use in India, dating back to 2000 BC. The primary pepper-producing countries include India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Malaysia.

In China, it is cultivated in provinces such as Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, and Yunnan.

Application

• Edible use: Pepper is one of the commonly used condiments, can be processed into pepper powder.
• Medicinal use: Pepper is known for its warming properties and pain-relieving effects. It is also used to reduce gas and phlegm, stimulate appetite, and aid digestion. Traditionally, it is used to alleviate stomach and epigastric pain, treat symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, epilepsy, and expel intestinal worms. Additionally, it is used for toothache relief.
• Trade use: Pepper is a highly traded commodity, with an annual global trade volume of 80,000 to 100,000 tons, accounting for approximately 30% of the total trade in spicy crops worldwide.

Genome sequencing

Black pepper, renowned as the "king of spices," holds a significant position as one of the oldest and most widely utilized spices worldwide. Collaboratively, the Institute of Spices and Beverages, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, along with seven institutions including Huazhong Agricultural University and Academy of Sciences Malaysia, has successfully published a chromosomal-level fine genome map for pepper cultivars in China. The reference genome was presented by integrating PacBio, 10x Chromium, BioNano DLS optical mapping, and Hi-C mapping technologies. The 761.2 Mb sequence was assembled into 26 pseudochromosomes, including 45 scaffolds, with a scaffold N50 of 29.8 Mb. The black pepper genome encodes 63,466 inferred protein-coding genes with an average length of 900 bp.

Reference

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5.Hu L, Xu Z, Wang M, et al. The chromosome-scale reference genome of black pepper provides insight into piperine biosynthesis. Nat Commun. 2019;10(1):4702. [OpenLBID: OLB-PM-31619678]