Domestication Of Chile Pepper Provides Insights Into Crop Origin And Evolution

Friday, June 19, 2009 - 15:14 in Paleontology & Archaeology

Chile peppers have long played an important role in the diets of Mesoamerican people. Capsicum annuum is one of five domesticated species of chiles and is one of the primary components of these diets. However, little is known regarding the original location of domestication of C. annuum and the genetic diversity in wild relatives. Researchers have now found a large amount of diversity in individuals from the Yucatan Peninsula, making this a center of diversity for chiles.

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