Genetic Improvement for Disease-Resistant Chili Peppers

The World Vegetable Center (W.V.C.) in Taiwan holds the largest public collection of vegetable germplasm, including a remarkable variety of chili peppers. As environmental shifts, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, threaten the world's supply of fruits and vegetables, the preservation of chili pepper varieties becomes crucial.In the late 1990s, Susan Lin, a plant researcher at the W.V.C., attempted to cross-pollinate chili peppers...