An ancient origin of the naked grains of maize.

ABSTRACT: Adaptation to novel environments requires genetic variation, but whether adaptation typically acts upon preexisting genetic variation or must wait for new mutations remains a fundamental question in evolutionary biology. Selection during domestication has been long used as a model to understand evolutionary processes, providing information not only on the phenotypes selected but also, in many cases, an understanding of the causal loci. For each of the causal loci that have been identified in maize, the selected allele can be found segregating in natural populations, consistent with their origin as standing genetic variation. The sole exception to this pattern is the well-characterized domestication locus tga1 (teosinte glume architecture1), which has long been thought to be a

SUBMITTER: Fairbanks RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12207465 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature