VCF and Metadata for Capsicum annuum XP-GWAS on β-Carotene

Carotenoids are essential plant pigments with critical roles in stress adaptation and human nutrition. β-Carotene, a major provitamin A carotenoid, is an important nutritional target in Capsicum annuum; however, its accumulation is a complex quantitative trait shaped by multiple metabolic and regulatory pathways. To explore the genetic basis underlying natural variation in β-carotene content, an extreme-phenotype genome-wide association approach was applied using accessions representing contrasting carotenoid levels. A total of 91 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed significant allele frequency differentiation between high- and low–β-carotene groups (FDR