| Abstract Detail
Pepper - Afternoon Aguilar-Melendez, Araceli [1], Roose, Mikeal [2], Kim, Seung-Chul [3]. Ethnobotanical and molecular data reveal the complexity of the domestication of chiles (Capsicum annuum L.) in Mexico. A detailed understanding of the domestication of Capsicum annuum L., one of the most popular spices all over the world, is elusive. Previous studies indicated that native people domesticate chiles in Mexico. However, where and how many times the domestication occurred is still unkown. Moreover, the identity of the ancestral type(s) that gave rise to domesticated C. annuum L. is undetermined. Today, “wild” populations of C. annuum can still be found as one element of the diverse tropical lowland ecosystems in Mexico. My hypothesis is that the domestication of C. annuum took place several times in Mexico in the region known as Mesoamerica. In order to test it I sequenced nuclear genes that would reveal phylogeographic patterns that would indicate the place(s) and the times domestication occurred. Because of the complex interactions between humans and chiles, documenting and interpreting the diversity of chiles in Mexico is difficult. We have a continuum of populations from highly domesticated to putative wild ones with apparent gene flow in both directions. Little is known about genetic diversity of chiles in a complex cultural environment. Domestication usually reduces genetic diversity of crops compared to their wild progenitors. Chiles (Capsicum annuum L.) and ethno-botanical data were collected from 20 localities (10 states) in Mexico, including populations from home-gardens, milpas, tropical deciduous forests and markets. Molecular analysis of two low copy nuclear genes indicates similar levels of genetic diversity among 21 domesticated and 54 wild accessions. TCS, ARG and Structure analyses provide important information regarding evolutionary relationships among wild and domesticated chiles. Wild populations of chiles had no geographic structure. This study showed that based on the cultural and molecular evidence, there is not a clear separation between wild and domesticated chiles of C. annuum L.
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1 - University of California, Riverside, Botany and Plant Sciences, Batchelor hall 2202, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
2 - University of California, Riverside, Botany and Plant Sciences, Batchelor hall 4121, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
3 - University of California, Riverside, Botany and Plant Sciences, Batchelor hall 2141, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
Keywords:
Domestication
Capsicum annuum
Evolutionary relationships
ethnobotany in Mesoamerica.
Session: SAT08-2
Location: Hall of Ideas Room H/Monona Terrace
Date: Wednesday, July 26th, 2006
Time: 1:30 PM
Abstract ID:388 |
