The nature of selection during plant domestication

Nature. 2009 Feb 12;457(7231):843-8. doi: 10.1038/nature07895.

Abstract

Plant domestication is an outstanding example of plant-animal co-evolution and is a far richer model for studying evolution than is generally appreciated. There have been numerous studies to identify genes associated with domestication, and archaeological work has provided a clear understanding of the dynamics of human cultivation practices during the Neolithic period. Together, these have provided a better understanding of the selective pressures that accompany crop domestication, and they demonstrate that a synthesis from the twin vantage points of genetics and archaeology can expand our understanding of the nature of evolutionary selection that accompanies domestication.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biological Evolution
  • Crops, Agricultural / genetics
  • Crops, Agricultural / physiology*
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Genome, Plant
  • Humans
  • Selection, Genetic*