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  • Review Article
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Genetics and geography of wild cereal domestication in the near east

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 3, pages 429–441 (2002)Cite this article

Key Points

  • Molecular markers, which provide genome-wide measures of genetic similarity, are pinpointing the geographical origin of Western agriculture.

  • Cereal domestication occurred in the Fertile Crescent — a region of the Near East in which wild progenitors of modern cereals still occur.

  • New geographical and genetic evidence point to a specific 'core area' in the Fertile Crescent, near the sources of the Tigris and the Euphrates, as the cradle of agriculture.

  • The transition from wild to domesticated forms mainly entails changes in three key traits: seed size, ear rachis stiffness and the free-threshing habit.

  • The genes that govern these traits have similar morphological effects in different species and are syntenic.

  • Reconstructing the genetics of cereal domestication, which occurred ∼10,000 years ago, is a challenging undertaking, but is facilitated by the genetic analysis of polyploid species.

  • The traits that distinguish wild from domesticated cereals are preserved in archaeological remains, which supplement the genetic evidence in providing landmarks for the timing and location of the origin of agriculture.

Abstract

About 12,000 years ago, humans began the transition from hunter-gathering to a sedentary, agriculture-based society. From its origins in the Near East, farming expanded throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, together with various domesticated plants and animals. Where, how and why agriculture originated is still debated. But newer findings, on the basis of genome-wide measures of genetic similarity, have traced the origins of some domesticated cereals to wild populations of naturally occurring grasses that persist in the Near East. A better understanding of the genetic differences between wild grasses and domesticated crops adds important facets to the continuing debate on the origin of Western agriculture and the societies to which it gave rise.

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Figure 1: Map of the Near East.
Figure 2: Phylogenetic trees showing a single origin for domesticated varieties of einkorn and barley.
Figure 3: Genetic similarities of cultivated tetraploid wheats (hulled emmer and hard wheat) to wild emmer populations from different regions.
Figure 4: Models for the evolution of polyploid wheats under cultivation and domestication.
Figure 5: Geography of early domestication and of later events during crop differentiation.

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Acknowledgements

This article is dedicated to A. Bianchi, plant geneticist and teacher. We thank M. Pasemann, S. Effgen, J. Schütze and an anonymous referee for their help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, Köln, 50829, Germany

    Francesco Salamini & Ralf Schäfer-Pregl

  2. Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Cukurova, Adana, 01330, Turkey

    Hakan Özkan

  3. Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura, Via Mulino 3, S. Angelo Lodigiano, 26866, LO, Italy

    Andrea Brandolini

  4. Heinrich-Heine-Universitat, Botanik III, Universitätsstrasse 1, Düsseldorf, 40225, Germany

    William Martin

Authors
  1. Francesco Salamini
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  2. Hakan Özkan
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  3. Andrea Brandolini
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  4. Ralf Schäfer-Pregl
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  5. William Martin
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Correspondence to Francesco Salamini.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

GrainGenes

Glossary

STAND

A population of a species that thrives in natural habitats. In the simplest example, the single species that dominates a field of grass.

RACHIS

The backbone of the ear (inflorescence), which bears lateral spikelets.

GLUME

The leaf-like structure that protects the seed in cereals. They can be tenacious (hard and not releasing the seeds, indehiscent) or soft (freely release seeds; naked seeds).

PHYTOGEOGRAPHY

The study of the geographical distribution of plant species.

AMPLIFIED FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM

A mapping method in which genomic DNA from different strains is amplified by PCR using arbitrary primers. DNA fragments that are amplified in one strain are used as polymorphic markers.

HOMOEOLOGUE

Chromosomes that share a common ancestor; although these might differ to some extent, they have a collinear molecular organization. Homoeologues can occur in different species, but can also coexist in the nucleus of polyploid species.

BRONZE AGE

An archaeological period starting ∼5,500 cal BP in the Fertile Crescent. This corresponds to a later period in Europe.

HULLED, NON-FREE-THRESHING

(NFT). Forms of cereal that have tenacious glumes.

SECONDARY HABITAT

A primary habitat is an ecological or geographical zone in which a given species is naturally endemic. The same species might subsequently colonize other areas (secondary habitats) as a consequence of human activities.

FERAL FORM

A population living in wild habitats that is derived from crosses between wild and domesticated genotypes.

SPIKELET

The part of the ear in grasses that contains 1–4 seeds and their surrounding glumes (leaf-like structures).

DISARTICULATE OR BRITTLE RACHIS

A rachis in which the ear disrupts at maturity into individual spikelets, each bearing a fragment of rachis.

TOUGH, NON-BRITTLE RACHIS

One that does not release spikelets at maturity. The ear can therefore be threshed to release seeds.

ANEUPLOIDY

The presence of extra copies, or no copies, of some chromosomes.

SUBSTITUTION LINE

In polyploids, a new chromosome pair from a related species can be introduced, while eliminating the resident homoeologous pair. This generates a substitution line. When repeated for all chromosomes, the process generates a set of substitution lines.

SYNTENY

Collinearity in the order of genes (or of other DNA sequences) in a chromosomal region of two species. Homoeologous chromosomes are largely syntenic.

GYMNOSPERM

A non-flowering seed plant (for example, pine).

MULTIVALENT

The presence of more than two chromosomes synapsed in a unit during prophase I of meiosis; this is characteristic of many autopolyploids.

SPELT

A hexaploid wheat that is still sporadically cultivated in Europe, the grains of which are enclosed (hulled) in glumes.

AWN

A bristle-like appendage that is seen on the glumes of many grasses.

SEED DORMANCY

A physiological condition of a viable seed that prevents germination, even in the presence of otherwise favourable germination conditions (for example, heat or moisture).

LANDRACE

A locally adapted strain of a species that is selected and adapted by farmers.

ACCESSION

A sample of plant material that is collected at a specific location and maintained in a seed bank.

HAPLOTYPE

An experimentally determined profile of genetic markers that is present on a single chromosome of any given individual.

GERMPLASM

The term used by breeders to refer to the collection of varieties and breeding lines.

INTROGRESSION

A process of recurrent backcrossing that leads to the incorporation of genes from one species into the gene pool of another.

FIXATION

Increase in allele frequency to the point at which all individuals in a population are homozygous.

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Salamini, F., Özkan, H., Brandolini, A. et al. Genetics and geography of wild cereal domestication in the near east. Nat Rev Genet 3, 429–441 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg817

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