Dataset Information

Fast diffusion of domesticated maize to temperate zones.

ABSTRACT: Adaptation to a temperate climate was a prerequisite for the spread of maize across a broad geographical range. To explicitly explore the demographic process underlying maize adaptation, we used a diffusion-based method to model the differentiation between temperate and tropical populations using the Non-Stiff Stalk group as a proxy for temperate maize. Based on multiple sequential Markovian coalescent approaches, we estimate that tropical and temperate maize diverged approximately 3'000 to 5'000 years ago and the population size shrank after the split. Using composite likelihood approaches, we identified a distinct tropical-temperate divergence event initiated 4'958 years ago (95% confidence interval (CI): 4'877-5'039) from an ancestral population whose effective size was 24,162 (95% CI: 23,914-24,409). We found that continuous gene flow between tropical and temperate maize accompanied the differentiation of temperate maize. Long identical-by-descent tracts shared by tropical and temperate inbred lines have been identified, which might be the result of gene flow between tropical and temperate maize or artificial selection during domestication and crop improvement. Understanding the demographic history of maize diffusion not only provides evidence for population dynamics of maize, but will also assist the identification of regions under selection and the genetic basis of complex traits of agronomic importance.

SUBMITTER: Li X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5437101 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fast diffusion of domesticated maize to temperate zones.

Li Xiaolong X Jian Yinqiao Y Xie Chuanxiao C Wu Jun J Xu Yunbi Y Zou Cheng C

Scientific reports 20170518 1

Adaptation to a temperate climate was a prerequisite for the spread of maize across a broad geographical range. To explicitly explore the demographic process underlying maize adaptation, we used a diffusion-based method to model the differentiation between temperate and tropical populations using the Non-Stiff Stalk group as a proxy for temperate maize. Based on multiple sequential Markovian coalescent approaches, we estimate that tropical and temperate maize diverged approximately 3'000 to 5'00 ...[more]

PMID: 28522839

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Project description:BackgroundThe species Zea mays includes both domesticated maize (ssp. mays) and its closest wild relatives known as the teosintes. While genetic and archaeological studies have provided a well-established history of Z. mays evolution, there is currently minimal description of its current and past distribution. Here, we implemented species distribution modeling using paleoclimatic models of the last interglacial (LI; ?135,000 BP) and the last glacial maximum (LGM; ?21,000 BP) to hindcast the distribution of Zea mays subspecies over time and to revisit current knowledge of its phylogeography and evolutionary history.Methodology/principal findingsUsing a large occurrence data set and the distribution modeling MaxEnt algorithm, we obtained robust present and past species distributions of the two widely distributed teosinte subspecies (ssps. parviglumis and mexicana) revealing almost perfect complementarity, stable through time, of their occupied distributions. We also investigated the present distributions of primitive maize landraces, which overlapped but were broader than those of the teosintes. Our data reinforced the idea that little historical gene flow has occurred between teosinte subspecies, but maize has served as a genetic bridge between them. We observed an expansion of teosinte habitat from the LI, consistent with population genetic data. Finally, we identified locations potentially serving as refugia for the teosintes throughout epochs of climate change and sites that should be targeted in future collections.Conclusion/significanceThe restricted and highly contrasting ecological niches of the wild teosintes differ substantially from domesticated maize. Variables determining the distributions of these taxa can inform future considerations of local adaptation and the impacts of climate change. Our assessment of the changing distributions of Zea mays taxa over time offers a unique glimpse into the history of maize, highlighting a strategy for the study of domestication that may prove useful for other species.

Dataset Information

Fast diffusion of domesticated maize to temperate zones.

Publications

Fast diffusion of domesticated maize to temperate zones.

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