Impact of Human Management on the Genetic Variation of Wild Pepper, Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum
Open Access
- 6 December 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 6 (12), e28715
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028715
Abstract
Management of wild peppers in Mexico has occurred for a long time without clear phenotypic signs of domestication. However, pre-domestication management could have implications for the population's genetic richness. To test this hypothesis we analysed 27 wild (W), let standing (LS) and cultivated (C) populations, plus 7 samples from local markets (LM), with nine polymorphic microsatellite markers. Two hundred and fifty two alleles were identified, averaging 28 per locus. Allele number was higher in W, and 15 and 40% less in LS and C populations, respectively. Genetic variation had a significant population structure. In W populations, structure was associated with ecological and geographic areas according to isolation by distance. When LM and C populations where included in the analysis, differentiation was no longer apparent. Most LM were related to distant populations from Sierra Madre Oriental, which represents their probable origin. Historical demography shows a recent decline in all W populations. Thus, pre-domestication human management is associated with a significant reduction of genetic diversity and with a loss of differentiation suggesting movement among regions by man. Measures to conserve wild and managed populations should be implemented to maintain the source and the architecture of genetic variation in this important crop relative.Keywords
This publication has 57 references indexed in Scilit:
- Genetic perspectives on crop domesticationTrends in Plant Science, 2010
- Ecosystem services and agriculture: tradeoffs and synergiesPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2010
- BEAST: Bayesian evolutionary analysis by sampling treesBMC Evolutionary Biology, 2007
- Domestication of Plants in the Americas: Insights from Mendelian and Molecular GeneticsAnnals of Botany, 2007
- In situ Management and Domestication of Plants in MesoamericaAnnals of Botany, 2007
- genalex 6: genetic analysis in Excel. Population genetic software for teaching and researchMolecular Ecology Notes, 2005
- Management, phenotypic patterns and domestication of Polaskia chichipe (Cactaceae) in the Tehuacán Valley, Central MexicoJournal of Arid Environments, 2005
- Genetic structure and differentiation of wild and domesticated populations of Capsicum annuum (Solanaceae) from MexicoÖsterreichische botanische Zeitschrift, 2001
- In Situ conservation of maize in Mexico: Genetic diversity and Maize seed management in a traditional communityEconomic Botany, 1997
- Relationships Between Weedy and Cultivated Forms in Some Species of Chili Peppers (Genus capsicum)Evolution, 1971