TITLE:
On the Origin of the Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
AUTHORS:
Andrés J. Cortés
KEYWORDS:
Phylogeography; Domestication; Bottlenecks; Outgroups; Andes; Mesoamerica
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.4 No.10,
October
9,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Phylogeographic
methods provide the tools to accurately access the geographic origin and
diversification of crop species. In the present commentary, I
urge the common bean community to face those methods and a tree-thinking mentality with
regards to the long standing debate of the origin of common bean. Such efforts
will ultimately bring back interest into wild bean studies and
reinforce the uniqueness of this species as a system to study diversification,
domestication and adaptive processes across the two most diverse hotspots in
the world.