title: An Integrated Hypothesis on the Domestication of Bactris gasipaes.
abstract: Peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) has had a central place in the livelihoods of people in the Americas since pre-Columbian times, notably for its edible fruits and multi-purpose wood. The botanical taxon includes both domesticated and wild varieties. Domesticated var gasipaes is believed to derive from one or more of the three wild types of var. chichagui identified today, although the exact dynamics and location of the domestication are still uncertain. Drawing on a combination of molecular and phenotypic diversity data, modeling of past climate suitability and existing literature, we present an integrated hypothesis about peach palm's domestication. We support a single initial domestication event in south western Amazonia, giving rise to var. chichagui type 3, the putative incipient domesticate. We argue that subsequent dispersal by humans across western Amazonia, and possibly into Central America allowed for secondary domestication events through hybridization with resident wild populations, and differential human selection pressures, resulting in the diversity of present-day landraces. The high phenotypic diversity in the Ecuadorian and northern Peruvian Amazon suggest that human selection of different traits was particularly intense there. While acknowledging the need for further data collection, we believe that our results contribute new insights and tools to understand domestication and dispersal patterns of this important native staple, as well as to plan for its conservation.
authors.affiliation: Regional Office for the Americas, Bioversity International, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Gea
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galluzzi
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, Centro de cooperación internacional en investigación agronómica para el desarrollo, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.affiliation: Regional Office for the Americas, Bioversity International, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Evert
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Sub-regional Office for the Americas, Bioversity International, Turrialba, Cartago,Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Zonneveld
authors.affiliation: CIAT, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Andrés Felipe
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Escobar Salamanca
authors.affiliation: CIAT, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giraldo Toro
authors.affiliation: CIAT, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.affiliation: Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia.
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salazar Duque
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suárez Baron
authors.affiliation: CIAT, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.affiliation: Regional Office for the Americas, Bioversity International, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Scheldeman
authors.affiliation: CIAT, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
authors.forename: Alonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonzalez Mejia
mesh_terms: D028023:Arecaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D044822:Biodiversity; D001838:Bolivia; D001938:Brazil; D003105:Colombia; D017753:Ecosystem; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010641:Phenotype; D011157:Population Dynamics; D058614:Seed Dispersal / Q000235:genetics