Cotton, the world’s most profitable nonfood crop, is used more than any other natural fiber. Known for its comfort and durability, it has been utilized since antiquity in fabrics and other goods. Four species are grown commercially, but one is dominant, accounting for about 90% of global production.
Scientists have now unraveled the domestication history of this important species – called Gossypium hirsutum, or upland cotton – with some genomic sleuthing. They determined that it was first domesticated in Mexico in the northwestern part of the Yucatan peninsula. The region at the time was populated by Stone Age farmers, long before the Maya civilization flourished there.
Iowa State University botanist and evolutionary biologist Jonathan Wendel said this domestication occurred at least 4,000 years ago, and perhaps up to 7,000 years ago.
The researchers pinpointed where domestication occurred by comparing the genomes of the domesticated species to wild cotton species found in the Yucatan, Florida and the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe. The domesticated species most closely matched wild Yucatan cotton.
“Wild cotton plants are woody, multibranched shrubs or small trees, long-lived, with relatively sparse flowering and smaller flowers, fruits and seeds than under cultivation,” said Wendel, co-senior author of the study published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneReutersRead More