Abstract
Pepper pericarp microbiota plays an important role in the pepper peeling process for the production of white pepper. We collected pepper samples at different peeling time points from Hainan Province, China, and used a metagenomic approach to identify changes in the pericarp microbiota based on functional gene analysis. UniFrac distance-based principal coordinates analysis revealed significant changes in the pericarp microbiota structure during peeling, which were attributed to increases in bacteria from the genera Selenomonas and Prevotella. We identified 28 core operational taxonomic units at each time point, mainly belonging to Selenomonas, Prevotella, Megasphaera, Anaerovibrio, and Clostridium genera. The results were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. At the functional level, we observed significant increases in microbial features related to acetyl xylan esterase and pectinesterase for pericarp degradation during peeling. These findings offer a new insight into biodegradation for pepper peeling and will promote the development of the white pepper industry.
Highlights
Pepper (Piper nigrum L.), one of the most famous spices in the world, is an important member of the family Piperaceae
After identifying an intrinsic difference in the pericarp microbiota composition during pepper peeling, we further examined the difference in specific bacteria at the phylum and genus level (Fig 2A and 2B)
We used a high-throughput sequencing approach to explore the core microbes and their functional genes related to pericarp degradation during pepper peeling
Summary
Pepper (Piper nigrum L.), one of the most famous spices in the world, is an important member of the family Piperaceae. Pepper fruits contain 1.0%–2.5% volatile oil and 5%–9% alkaloids, mainly piperine, chavicine, piperidine, piperetine, and resin [2]. Pepper alkaloids exhibit a wide variety of biological effects, including immunomodulatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-asthmatic, stimulatory, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-ulcer [3, 4]. China is one of the largest pepper producers in the world, with an estimated annual production of 27,210 tons. Hainan Province produces more than 90% of the country’s pepper crop, with more than 80% of the product being white pepper [7]. The traditional method for pepper peeling is known as retting. In this process, ripe pepper fruits are separated from the stalk, PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0165206. Ripe pepper fruits are separated from the stalk, PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0165206 October 21, 2016
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