Posted on 04/18/2014 9:49:58 AM PDT by Red Badger
Central-east Mexico gave birth to the domesticated chili pepper—now the world's most widely grown spice crop—reports an international team of researchers, led by a plant scientist at the University of California, Davis.
Results from the four-pronged investigation—based on linguistic and ecological evidence as well as the more traditional archaeological and genetic data—suggest a regional, rather than a geographically specific, birthplace for the domesticated chili pepper. That region, extending from southern Puebla and northern Oaxaca to southeastern Veracruz, is further south than was previously thought, the researchers found.
The region also is different from areas of origin that have been suggested for common bean and corn, which were presumably domesticated in Western Mexico.
The study findings will be published online April 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, as part of a series of research papers on plant and animal domestication.
Crop domestication, the process of selectively breeding a wild plant or animal species, is of increasing interest to scientists.
"Identifying the origin of the chili pepper is not just an academic exercise," said UC Davis plant scientist Paul Gepts, the study's senior author. "By tracing back the ancestry of any domesticated plant, we can better understand the genetic evolution of that species and the origin of agriculture—a major step in human evolution in different regions of the world," he said.
"This information, in turn, better equips us to develop sound genetic conservation programs and increases the efficiency of breeding programs, which will be critically important as we work to deal with climate change and provide food for a rapidly increasing global population," Gepts added.
Study co-author Gary P. Nabhan, an ethnobiologist and agroecologist at the University of Arizona's Southwest Center noted: "This is the first research ever to integrate multiple lines of evidence in attempts to pinpoint where, when, under what ecological conditions, and by whom a major global spice plant was domesticated.
"In fact, this may be the only crop-origins research to have ever predicted the probable first cultivators of one of the world's most important food crops," Nabhan said.
To determine crop origins, scientists have traditionally studied the plants' genetic makeup in geographic areas where they have observed high diversity among the crop's wild ancestors. More recently, they have also examined archaeological remains of plants, including pollen, starch grains and even mineralized plant secretions.
For this chili pepper study, the researchers used these two traditional approaches but also considered historical languages, looking for the earliest linguistic evidence that a cultivated chili pepper existed.
They also developed a model for the distribution of related plant species, to predict the areas most environmentally suitable for the chili pepper and its wild ancestors.
The genetic evidence seemed to point more to northeastern Mexico as the chili pepper's area of domestication; however there was collectively more evidence from all four lines of study supporting the central-east region as the area of origin.
Are you growing piper nigra here in CONUS?
/johnny
Not really...New England.
In a greenhouse? Because I would love to grow them.
/johnny
Ok, where’d you get the piper nigra seeds? Have they sprouted yet, I hear they’re devlishly difficult to germinate.
I started them early...very nice plants (so far). Plenty of light in an area with radiant heat; feeding them bat guano. Lost the greenhouse when I moved recently. Obtained the seed in a swap (I told you that you need to get involved in those, BA.) Planted eight seeds, all eight germinated.
Hmm. I might try some bought this summer. It will be this fall’s seed swap before I can get any that way.
Cool. I may have to try that next year. Save seed. ;)
I’ve got tobacco seed and really good cantaloupe seed to swap for a few.
/johnny
Oops...my bad. I didn’t see the other tray...planted FIFTEEN seed, all germinated and are doing quite well. They will get their first taste of outdoor sunshine tomorrow...just a taste.
I’m baby sitting grand kids and have no idea what my garden is doing right now. Probably playing loud music and having a party.
Told the grand kids that if this gig rolls into tomorrow, we were going to relocate the AO. I need to be near my garden this time of year.
/johnny
I have cats that LOVE pepper plants...it’s quite the juggling act to keep them all intact. I have become tuned in to the sound of a cat’s jaws opening...
Speaking of seeds; the seed bill I’ve mentioned before passed the NH Senate yesterday.
I save seed from EVERYTHING...drives my wife nuts.
My catz have been known to nosh on pepper plants. I’ve moved the shelves so they can’t get to them.
/johnny
"Chili peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7500 BC. There is archaeological evidence at sites located in southwestern Ecuador that chili peppers were domesticated more than 6000 years ago,[1][2] and is one of the first cultivated crops in the Americas that is self-pollinating. "
Yay.
You’ll have to send me your website addy when you get one set up. too bad it’ll be YEARS before your piper nigra plants actually make seeds...
This impresses me as an extremely difficult task.
If asked about the origins of cultivated peppers, my first inclination would be South Asia or the Pacific islands. The second guess would be South America.
To start with, they probably assume that domesticated peppers first made their appearance with the Clovis culture, about 13,000 years ago. But a lot of the technologies used then, and later Indian tribes, may have arrived there already developed.
Either from the Pacific islands or South America, such as the Pedra Furada sites in Brazil. Much, much older than Clovis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedra_Furada_sites
I keep my tomato and pepper seedlings in the garage on cold nights. I had a mouse attack last year that wiped out a whole tray. Liberal applications of ‘mousicide’ (traps) stopped that. I have only just started stuff in the past week though so I will probably just keep them outside except on the coldest nights.
The mice even ate the superhot seedlings. I guess either mice didn’t notice, didn’t care, liked hot stuff or the pepper plants didn’t have their mojo yet.
I’ll leave them to my wife...she’s younger.
Thanks for the ping. Very interestign.
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