title: Crop Domestication: A Sneak-Peek into the Midpoint of Maize Evolution.
abstract: In a new study, DNA from a 5,310-year-old corn cob found in the Tehuacán Valley in Mexico was sequenced and compared to modern maize and its wild progenitor grasses. The sample was found to be an intermediate between modern maize and its wild relatives, suggesting a gradual, protracted domestication process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA.
authors.forename: Garrett M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Janzen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA. Electronic address: mhufford@iastate.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hufford
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000502:physiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins