Resumen de la plática

Wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. dicccoides) stands among the earliest plant species to give rise to domesticated forms in the Fertile Crescent, approximately 11,000 years ago. Today, one of its descendants, bread wheat, is a staple crop of immense socio-economic importance, contributing to approximately 20% of the world’s caloric intake. The domestication of wheat has long captivated interdisciplinary scholars, and the prevailing theory suggests a protracted and geographically diffused process spanning millennia. In this study, we delve into the population structure of wild emmer populations and their role on the domestication and subsequent dispersal of the first domestics. Our investigation involves quantifying, for the first time, the genomic proportion of ancestry from wild emmer populations in two distinct germplasms, encompassing landraces from Europe, Africa, and Asia. We also provide estimates of the time since admixture of these two wild populations, aligning with the domestication and dispersal patterns observed, particularly towards Africa. Furthermore, we explore the potential adaptive role of wild emmer from the Southern Levant in domestication and dispersal, revealing an enrichment of genes associated with resistance to biotic stress and drought. Finally, we analyse the exome of 2,000 year-old wheat specimens from Egypt to trace the presence of these putative adaptive haplotypes. Our findings deepen our understanding of the origins of domestic wheat and underscore the significance of modern domestic landraces of emmer wheat in elucidating the genetic basis of resilience in cultivated crops.

Laura Botigué. Plant and Animal Genomics Program. CRAG, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Campus UAB Cerdanyola, BCN, Spain

https://www.cragenomica.es/research-groups/genomics-ancient-crops-and-domestication
https://www.cragenomica.es/research-programmes/310/plant-and-animal-genomics
https://www.cragenomica.es/staff/laura-r-botigue

Frontiers in Genomics