The arches and spandrels of maize domestication, adaptation, and improvement
People living in the Balsas River basin in southwest México domesticated maize from the bushy grass teosinte. Nine thousand years later, in 2021, Ms. Deb Haaland — a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe of New Mexico — wore a dress adorned with a cornstalk when she was sworn in as the Secretary of I...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Current opinion in plant biology Vol. 64; p. 102124 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
England
Elsevier Ltd
01-12-2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | People living in the Balsas River basin in southwest México domesticated maize from the bushy grass teosinte. Nine thousand years later, in 2021, Ms. Deb Haaland — a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe of New Mexico — wore a dress adorned with a cornstalk when she was sworn in as the Secretary of Interior of the United States of America. This choice of garment highlights the importance of the coevolution of maize and the farmers who, through careful selection over thousands of years, domesticated maize and adapted the physiology and shoot architecture of maize to fit local environments and growth habits. Some traits such as tillering were directly selected on (arches), and others such as tassel size are the by-products (spandrels) of maize evolution. Here, we review current knowledge of the underlying cellular, developmental, physiological, and metabolic processes that were selected by farmers and breeders, which have positioned maize as a top global staple crop. |
|---|---|
| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
| ISSN: | 1369-5266 1879-0356 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102124 |