How did corn evolve from teosinte?
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.
Is teosinte 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).
What changes did domestication bring about to teosinte?
The process of maize domestication radically changed it from its origins. The seeds of wild teosinte are encased in hard shells and arranged on a spike with five to seven rows, a spike that shatters when the grain is ripe to disperse its seed.
What evidence supports the claim that corn plants were bred from teosinte?
According to the gathered evidence, the DNA of the teosinte and corns are remarkably similar. In this case, scientists claim that these two plants are closely related despite their differences in appearance.
What is the genetic basis of the change from teosinte to maize?
In his Teosinte Hypothesis, Beadle stated that maize is simply a domesticated form of teosinte (Beadle, 1939). He believed that, through artificial selection by ancient humans, several mutations with relatively large effects could have transformed teosinte into maize.
What does the teosinte mean?
fodder grass
teosinte in American English (ˌtioʊˈsɪnti ) noun. a tall, cornlike fodder grass ( Zea mexicana) native to Mexico and Central America, having a tassel and small, hard ears: presumed to be the wild ancestor of maize.
Are corn and teosinte different species?
Teosinte and corn ( Zea mays) don’t look much alike, but they are interfertile. Teosinte-corn hybrids arise in the wild but look so different from either parent that they were originally classified as a different species ( Zea canina).
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.
How do archaeologists know that mesoamericans domesticated maize?
The best-known evidence for the early domestication of maize comes from the Tehuacan Valley in Puebla. Originally, the cobs from caves in this valley were dated to about 5000 BCE, but more recent re-dating of the material suggests a date of only 3500 BCE.
What does the name teosinte mean?
History and Etymology for teosinte Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl teōcintli, from teōtl god + cintli dried ears of maize.
Which trait is present in teosinte but not maize?
2009). Teosinte has minute kernels compared with maize, enclosed within a hard, stony fruitcase, a trait not present in maize inbreds and landraces (Dorweiler et al. 1993).
Are teosinte and maize different species?
Corn or maize (Zea mays) is a domesticated plant of the Americas. The main theory is that maize (corn) was developed from a wild grass called teosinte. Teosinte is very different from today’s corn. The kernels on it were small and were not placed close together like kernels on the ear of modern corn.
How big is a teosinte ear of corn?
A teosinte ear is only 2 to 3 inches long with five to 12 kernels–compare that to corn’s 12-inch ear that boasts 500 or more kernels! Teosinte kernels are also encased in a hard coating, allowing them to survive the digestive tracts of birds and grazing mammals for better dispersal in the wild.
How are corn and teosinte related to each other?
Scientists have discovered that domestic corn and wild teosinte are evolutionary cousins — research suggests that native Americans domesticated maize from wild teosinte stocks using artificial selection — and so genes found in teosinte may also be useful in corn.
When did the teosinte plant start to grow?
About 9,000 years ago, teosinte grew wild, as a grass-like plant, with a grain in a tough shell that was dispersed only when ripe. 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.
Where did the teosinte come from in Mexico?
About 9,000 years ago, humans began to interact with wild teosinte in the balsas River Valley of southern-central Mexico. Over several thousand years of seed stewardship our ancient ancestors developed domesticated corn and the thousands of different varieties that exist today. Teosinte is not consumed widely.
