AboutCornThe origins debate has been going on for decades, and there has been no consensus on one of the world's most important food crops. However, Central ChinaAgricultureA recent joint study by Professor Yan Jianbing's team at the university, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, and Yazhou Bay National Laboratory, and Jeffrey Rose-Ibarra's team at the University of California, Davis** is available atSciencehas attracted widespread attention.
The ** proposes a completely new oneCornThe Origin Model – the "Two Origins" hypothesis, considers the modernCornThe ancestors of the grass are the plain species and the Mexican speciesPlateauLarge-scale grass (Plateauspecies). This new thinking is not only the worldCornThe important breakthrough in the research also shows that the Chinese scientific research team is inCornOriginating from the innovative power of basic research.
CornIt is one of the most widely cultivated and highest-yielding staple food crops in the world, and one of the models of successful domestication of plants by humans. However, humans domesticatedCornwith the wildCornThere is a huge difference in morphology, which raises the question ofCornThe controversy over the origins. The century-long debate has led to two main views: the hybrid origin hypothesis and the single origin hypothesis. At the beginning of the 21st century, with the advancement of molecular marker technology,ScienceFamilies proveCornOriginating from the subspecies of Macrophyllum and determining the domestication time of about 9,000 years ago, the single origin hypothesis gradually became a hypothesisScienceconsensus.
However, there are still many paradoxes that cannot be explained by the single origin hypothesis. In 2013, the Ross Ibarra laboratory discovered MexicoGao HaiUnpluggingCornThere is a large grass in the farmer's speciesPlateauEvidence of gene infiltration. Subsequently, in 2018, a joint research team conducted a study on more than 1,000 large mowing grass and more than 5,000 modern copiesCornFarm breeds are studied on a global scale and found modernlyCornIt is prevalent in Biggrass vulgarisPlateauPenetration of genes. They found that about 18% modernCornGenomeFrom the big grassPlateauspecies, and this partGenomeFor modern timesCornand other adaptations have important contributions.
Based on the above results, the joint research team proposed a new hypothesis of "two origins", namely the subspecies of S. magnum and MexicoPlateauThe subspecies of Macrophyllum is modernCornof ancestors. This hypothesis not only fills in the loophole of the single-origin hypothesis, but also proves the sloppyPlateaukind of to modernCornAn important contribution of diversity and adaptability.
Evidence for this hypothesis comes mainly from population genetic analysis, which they obtained from MexicoPlateauSubspecies of Macrophyllum to the modern ageCornFarmer plantingGenomecontribution, modernCornDomestication withGeographyThe Proliferation Hypothesis, as well as MexicoPlateauThe detection of gene penetration fragments of the subsp. macrophyllum was analyzed in detail. The results of these studies suggest that MexicoPlateauThe genes of the subsp. macrophyllum have influenced modern times by penetrating fragmentsCornof phenotypic variation, for modern timesCorn's adaptability plays an important role.
Professor Yan Jianbing said that the results of the study show that the Chinese research team is inCornThe innovative self-confidence in the study of origins also demonstrates the significanceScienceThe importance of strengthening international cooperation and multi-party collaboration in basic research. This study lays an important theoretical foundation for the genetic improvement of crops using wild resources. It is worth mentioning that Hubei Hongshan Laboratory has been focusing on the field of biological breedingCornhas always been the focus of his research. Before, ".Sciencemagazine also published Yan Jianbing's team aboutCornRiceHomologous genesThe results of their research by editing and improving the key gene krn2 are expected to beCornwithRiceincreased production by about 10% and 8%, respectively.
By modernCornGenomeDetailed analysis of Central ChinaAgricultureProfessor Yan Jianbing's team at the University and Jeffrey Rose-Ibarra's team at the University of California, Davis, have come up with a completely new oneCornOrigin model – the "two origins" hypothesis. This hypothesis illustrates the subspecies of S. parviflora and MexicoPlateauThe subspecies of Mulberry is also modernCornand fills the loophole of the "single origin hypothesis". The study not only shows how well the Chinese research team is working onCornThe innovative power of basic research on origin also provides an important theoretical basis for the genetic improvement of crops using wild resources.