Abstract

Cynara cardunculus is a complex representing a single biological species which includes the wild cardoon (C. cardunculus var. sylvestris), and two crops: the globe artichoke (C. cardunculus var. scolymus) and the cultivated leafy cardoon (C. cardunculus var. altilis). Wild cardoon taxon is distributed across the Mediterranean Region and mainly two possible genepools have been recognized, the eastern-and the western-Mediterranean types. Morphologically, wild cardoons from Spain and Portugal can be easily distinguished from the other wild cardoons and are quite similar to cultivated cardoon. During the domestication process, the artichoke was selected for the gigantism of flower heads and the loss of spinosity, while the leafy cardoon for bigger leaf stalks and less spines. Another major difference between the two crops is related to their reproductive system, the artichoke being traditionally clonally propagated, the cultivated cardoon being propagated by seeds. Population analyses obtained from a wide range of wild cardoon, artichoke and leafy cardoon samples, and based on SSRs distributed on all the Cynara cardunculus genome, together with data obtained from NGS chloroplast and nuclear genome sequencing suggest independent domestication events for artichoke and cardoon. In the most plausible scenario, the eastern wild cardoon would have given rise to both crops, and artichoke would have been domesticated in southern Italy/northern Africa, probably Sicily in earlier times compared to leafy cardoon. Among the three taxa, artichoke is the only one to exhibit a bottleneck, although not a severe one. Molecular data also suggest that western wild cardoon would represent a feral form of the cultivated leafy cardoon. Relevant aspects on the evolution of domestication under different selective pressures and distinct reproductive behaviors are discussed.

Autore Pugliese

• Sonnante Gabriella

Tutti gli autori

• Sonnante G.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Non Disponibile

Anno di pubblicazione

2013

ISSN

Non Disponibile

ISBN

978-88-904570-3-6

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

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Numero di citazioni Scopus

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

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