What is teosinte and where did it originate?
Teosintes are native to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Domesticated corn, or maize (Zea mays mays), was derived from the Balsas teosinte (Z. mays parviglumis) of southern Mexico in pre-Columbian times more than 6,000 years ago. Teosintes are solitary (single-stalked) annuals or spreading perennials.
How did teosinte evolve?
mexicana (teosinte) originated from natural hybridization of Z. mays and a species of Tripsacum after cultivated maize was introduced into Central America; and that most modern races of maize resulted from introgression of primitive maize with teosinte, Tripsacum, or both.
When did teosinte evolve?
About 9,000-6,000 years ago
About 9,000-6,000 years ago, ancient people began to develop parviglumis teosinte into a crop that more closely resembles what we know as corn. Its kernels started to grow without the tough shell, and humans domesticated this plant for its grain, changing the size and textures of the kernels.
What is the origin of Zea mays?
Zea mays, more commonly referred to as maize, is a member of the grass family Poaceae, or true grasses. Maize is thought to have originated 55–70 million years ago in what is now Central or South America and has since diversified into nearly 10 000 nondomestic relatives.
Is teosinte a maize?
The direct ancestor of maize is a lowland wild grass known as teosinte (Zea mays ssp. A teosinte plant can have several hundred ears, each with only 10 grains, whereas maize typically has only two ears, each with several hundred grains.
How did farmers eat teosinte?
Teosinte seeds are protected by a hard casing that makes them impractical to eat, but ancient plant breeders developed varieties with “naked kernels.” In these plants, the structures that form the seed case instead turn into the cob in the center of the ear, leaving the seed exposed for us to eat.
Why was teosinte selectively bred?
By selectively breeding each generation, ancient farmers drastically changed teosinte’s appearance, yield, grain quality and survivability—culminating in today’s “corn.” In fact, teosinte is so unlike modern corn, 19th century botanists did not even consider the two to be related.
Is teosinte the ancestor of corn?
Phylogenetic analysis and archaeological data revealed that maize originated from a single domestication event in southern Mexico about 9,000 y ago (9, 10). The direct ancestor of maize is a lowland wild grass known as teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis).
Is teosinte ancestor of corn?
Where did sweetcorn originate?
Corn was originally domesticated in Mexico by native peoples by about 9,000 years ago. They used many generations of selective breeding to transform a wild teosinte grass with small grains into the rich source of food that is modern Zea mays.
Who manipulated maize?
An ancient ear of corn shows that farmers made drastic genetic modifications to corn at least 4,400 years ago. Early corn farmers in Mexico manipulated corn’s genetic makeup through selective breeding, effectively changing […]
What is the scientific name of teosinte?
Family: Poaceae. Genus: Zea. Species: Zea mays subsp.