A crop population perspective on maize seed systems in Mexico

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
George A Dyer, J Edward Taylor

Abstract

Improvement of local germplasm through artificial selection is regarded as the main force behind maize evolution and diversity in Mexico, the crop's center of origin. This perspective neglects the larger social context of maize evolution. Using a theoretical approach and Mexico-wide data, we show that farmer-led evolution of maize is largely driven by a technological diffusion and appropriation process that selectively integrates nonlocal germplasm into local seed stocks. Our approach construes farmer practices as events in the life history of seed to build a demographic model. The model shows how random and systematic differences in management combine to structure maize seed populations into subpopulations that can spread or become extinct, in some cases independently of visible agronomic advantages. The process involves continuous population bottlenecks that can lead to diversity loss. Nonlocal germplasm thus might play a critical role in maintaining diversity in individual localities. Empirical estimates show that introduction of nonlocal seed in Central and Southeastern Mexico is rarer than previously thought; prompt replacement further prevents new seed from spreading. Yet introduced seed perceived as valuable diffuses rap...Continue Reading

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Citations

Sep 10, 2009·Heredity·J van HeerwaardenJ Ross-Ibarra
Dec 20, 2012·Nature Communications·Deepak K RayJonathan A Foley
Aug 10, 2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Mauricio R BellonJon Hellin
Feb 6, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Karl S Zimmerer
Jun 9, 2009·PloS One·George A DyerElena R Alvarez-Buylla
Jul 11, 2013·PloS One·George A Dyer, Alejandro López-Feldman
Sep 10, 2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·George A DyerJ Edward Taylor
Sep 1, 2010·Evolutionary Applications·Kristin L Mercer, Hugo R Perales
Nov 6, 2018·GM Crops & Food·Mayra Teresa Garcia RuizHernan Garcia-Ruiz
May 2, 2017·Frontiers in Genetics·Jose L Caldu-PrimoDaniel Piñero

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