Genome Sequence of a 5,310-Year-Old Maize Cob Provides Insights into the Early Stages of Maize Domestication

Something I've always found interesting is how studies on ancient DNA can help complement things we have learned from the archaeological record. Archaeological studies have suggested maize was domesticated around 10,000 to 6,250 years ago in southern Mexico.

In this paper, researchers sequenced the DNA from a 5,310-year-old cob of maize, and discovered it was genetically more similar to modern varieties of domesticated maize than its wild counterpart. This suggests domestication had already progressed substantially. However, there are a number of differences from modern maize, showing that domestication was a gradual process which continued to shape domesticated maize over the millennia.

The map shows distribution of two wild ancestors of domesticated maize, and the Tehuacan Valley, where the maize sample was found.


https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982216311204

Zac Truesdell, potluck, 2/25/2020