Leaf ecophysiological traits of crops are primarily inherited from their wild progenitors, challenging the conventional assumption that the origins of fast physiology lie only in early domestication and modern breeding.
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References
Milla, R. Phenotypic evolution of agricultural crops. Funct. Ecol. 37, 976–988 (2023). A Review article that emphasizes the importance of understanding the evolution of crop traits.
Evans, L. T. Crop evolution, adaptation and yield (Cambridge University Press, 1993). A book that presents inconsistent changes in ecophysiological traits during crop evolution.
Gómez‐Fernández, A. et al. Disparities among crop species in the evolution of growth rates: The role of distinct origins and domestication histories. New Phytol. 233, 995–1010 (2022). This paper reports no increase in growth rates during domestication and improvement.
Nadal, M. & Flexas, J. Variation in photosynthetic characteristics with growth form in a water-limited scenario: Implications for assimilation rates and water use efficiency in crops. Agric. Water Manag. 216, 457–472 (2018). This paper reports higher carbon fixation rates in crops than in wild species.
Huang, G. et al. Variation of photosynthesis during plant evolution and domestication: Implications for improving crop photosynthesis. J. Exp. Bot. 73, 4886–4896 (2022). This paper reports higher photosynthesis, conductance, leaf nitrogen and SLA in crops than in wild species.
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This is a summary of: Gómez-Fernández, A. et al. Early human selection of crops’ wild progenitors explains the acquisitive physiology of modern cultivars. Nat. Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01588-6 (2024).
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The importance of early human choices of wild plants in determining crop physiology. Nat. Plants 10, 9–10 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01589-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01589-5
