Kaczmarek Thomas, Cubry Philippe, Champion Louis, Causse Sandrine, Couderc Marie, Orjuela Julie, Uyoh Edak A, Oselebe Happiness O, Dachi Stephen N, Adje Charlotte O A, Sekloka Emmanuel, Achigan-Dako Enoch G, Ibrahim Bio Yerima Abdou R, Saidou Sani Idi, Bakasso Yacoubou, Diop Baye M, Gueye Mame C, Agyare Richard Y, Adjebeng-Danquah Joseph, Gueye Mathieu, Wieringa Jan J, Vigouroux Yves, Billot Claire, Barnaud Adeline, Leclerc Christian
CIRAD, UMR AGAP Institut, Montpellier, France.
AGAP Institut, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France.
Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 30;16(1):4067. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59454-2.
Crop evolutionary history and domestication processes are key issues for better conservation and effective use of crop genetic diversity. Black and white fonio (Digitaria iburua and D. exilis, respectively) are two small indigenous grain cereals grown in West Africa. The relationship between these two cultivated crops and wild Digitaria species is still unclear. Here, we analyse whole genome sequences of 265 accessions comprising these two cultivated species and their close wild relatives. We show that white and black fonio were the result of two independent domestications without gene flow. We infer a cultivation expansion that began at the outset of the CE era, coinciding with the earliest discovered archaeological fonio remains in Nigeria. Fonio population sizes declined a few centuries ago, probably due to a combination of several factors, including major social and agricultural changes, intensification of the slave trade and the introduction of new, less labour-intensive crops. The key knowledge and genomic resources outlined here will help to promote and conserve these neglected climate-resilient crops and thereby provide an opportunity to tailor agriculture to the changing world.
作物的进化历史和驯化过程是更好地保护和有效利用作物遗传多样性的关键问题。黑黍和白黍（分别为Digitaria iburua和D. exilis）是在西非种植的两种小型本土谷物。这两种栽培作物与野生马唐属物种之间的关系仍不清楚。在此，我们分析了包含这两个栽培物种及其近缘野生种的265份种质的全基因组序列。我们发现，白黍和黑黍是两次独立驯化的结果，不存在基因流动。我们推断，种植扩张始于公元元年初期，这与在尼日利亚最早发现的考古黍类遗迹相吻合。黍类种群数量在几个世纪前有所下降，可能是多种因素共同作用的结果，包括重大的社会和农业变革、奴隶贸易的加剧以及新的、劳动强度较低的作物的引入。这里概述的关键知识和基因组资源将有助于推广和保护这些被忽视的适应气候变化的作物，从而为使农业适应不断变化的世界提供机会。
