Abstract
Microevolution in Amazonia has been far less documented than in temperate regions and still constitutes a major knowledge gap. Moreover, the actual influence of pre-Columbian societies through the Holocene remains unclear, although it could provide interesting insights on the relationship between natural and human-mediated evolutionary processes in driving microevolution.
Because they are widespread and traditionally managed since pre-Columbian times, Neotropical palms are choice models to investigate the drivers of microevolution in Amazonia. In this study, we carried out a preliminary exploration of the genomic diversity in two pairs of congeneric palm species in French Guiana (Astrocaryum spp. and Oenocarpus spp.).
We built upon an original sampling design, taking into account both regional climate variations and local-scale pre-Columbian occupation, and designed a new target capture kit of 20,000 molecular probes scattered across exonic regions of more than 5,000 nuclear genes in Arecoïdeae (“ARECO5000+”). Hundreds of palm libraries were sequenced through Illumina sequencing, providing a unique – high-coverage – genomic dataset in these non-model species.
We explored patterns of genomic diversity and differentiation within and across populations, bringing state-of-the-art knowledge about the roles of climate adaptation and pre-Columbian domestication. By documenting original cases of “incipient” domestication, these pioneer results open new avenues toward a better understanding of microevolution in Amazonia and of the impact of pre-Columbian societies on present-day biodiversity patterns.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
