Refferals

Articles about the origin of corn in Mesoamerica

• Teosinte and the domestication of maize: https://evolution.earthathome.org/grasses/andropogoneae/maize-domestication/
• UNM researchers document the first use of maize in Mesoamerica: https://news.unm.edu/news/releases-20200601-6803126
• The Spread of Maize from Southern Mexico: Genetic and Archaeological Perspectives: https://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/mgg/article/html/3946/
• maize_history: https://rilab.ucdavis.edu/maize_history.html
• Genetic diversity and population structure of native maize populations in Latin America and the Caribbean: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5389613/
• Cultural history of maize: https://evolution.earthathome.org/grasses/andropogoneae/maize-culture/
• Multiproxy evidence highlights a complex evolutionary legacy of maize in South America: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aav0207
• Scientists thought they understood maize’s origins. They were missing something big: https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-thought-they-understood-maizes-origins-they-were-missing-something-big
• Domestication and lowland adaptation of coastal preceramic maize from Paredones, Peru: https://elifesciences.org/articles/83149

Articles on the origin of the avocado in Mesoamerica (Mexican and Guatemalan varieties, and Hass) )

• Insights into the domestication of avocado and potential genetic contributors to heterodichogamy: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9911064/
• Early evidence of avocado domestication from El Gigante Rockshelter, Honduras: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2417072122
• Avocado Genome is at the Center of New Study: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/avocado-genome-is-at-the-center-of-new-study
• Avocado Cultivars, Botanical Races and Genetic Footprints: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=21125
• Early evidence of avocado domestication from El Gigante Rockshelter, Honduras: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389520017_Early_evidence_of_avocado_domestication_from_El_Gigante_Rockshelter_Honduras
• Early evidence of avocado domestication from El Gigante Rockshelter, Honduras: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40030019/
• Insights into the domestication of avocado and potential genetic contributors to heterodichogamy: https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article/13/2/jkac323/6883622
• Avocado genome has been sequenced: https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/news-and-events/recent-news/2019/august/avocado-genome-sequenced.html
• Insights into the domestication of avocado and potential genetic contributors to heterodichogamy: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.03.30.486474v1.full
• Early evidence of avocado domestication from El Gigante Rockshelter, Honduras: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11912431/

Articles on the Antillean avocado variety (shared heritage of Mesoamerica and the Andes)

• Avocado: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado
• West Indian avocado: where did it originate?: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266476678_West_Indian_avocado_where_did_it_originate
• The Avocado (Persea Americana, Lauraceae) Crop in Mesoamerica: 10,000 Years of History: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232688469_The_Avocado_Persea_Americana_Lauraceae_Crop_in_Mesoamerica_10000_Years_of_History
• Avocado - an overview: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/avocado
• Genotyping and diversity analysis of local avocado landraces in La Palma, Canary Islands: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12063189/
• Genotyping and diversity analysis of local avocado landraces in La Palma, Canary Islands: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1572870/full
• Avocado History: https://avocadosfrommexico.com/avocados/history/
• West Indian avocado: where did it originate?: https://www.scielo.org.ar/pdf/phyton/v79n2/v79n2a15.pdf
• Avocado Cultivars, Botanical Races and Genetic Footprints: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=21125
• Persea - an overview: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/persea

Articles about the original cherry tomato in the Andes (Ecuador-Peru)

• Tomato domestication involved agricultural societies from Peru to Mexico: https://globalplantcouncil.org/tomato-domestication-involved-agricultural-societies-from-peru-to-mexico/
• Tomato domestication involved agricultural societies from Peru to Mexico: https://phys.org/news/2022-03-tomato-domestication-involved-agricultural-societies.html
• The tomato domestication involved agricultural societies from Peru to Mexico: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/944982
• Noticia UPV: The whole genome of 628 wild and cultivated plants have been analyzed to unravel some details of the complex American tomato history: http://www.upv.es/noticias-upv/noticia-13473-desvelan-nuevo-en.html
• The Tomato's Tale: Exploring Taxonomy, Biogeography, Domestication, and Microbiome for Enhanced Resilience: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PBIOMES-09-23-0091-MF
• The History of Tomatoes: https://condimentclaire.substack.com/p/the-history-of-tomatoes
• Why Is This Wild, Pea-Sized Tomato So Important?: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/why-wild-tiny-pimp-tomato-so-important-180955911/
• Cherry Tomato - an overview: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/cherry-tomato
• Cherry tomato: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_tomato
• Solanum pimpinellifolium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_pimpinellifolium

Articles on the large tomato in Mesoamerica (Mexico, lc and fas mutations)

• Tomato locule number and fruit size controlled by natural alleles of lc and fas: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31312784/
• Genomic Evidence for Complex Domestication History of the Cultivated Tomato in Latin America: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7086179/
• Genomic variation in tomato, from wild ancestors to contemporary breeding accessions: https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-015-1444-1
• Domestication and Breeding of Tomatoes: What have We Gained and What Can We Gain in the Future?: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2759208/
• Frontiers | What lies beyond the eye: the molecular mechanisms regulating tomato fruit weight and shape: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2014.00227/full
• Exploiting the diversity of tomato: the development of a phenotypically and genetically detailed germplasm collection: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41438-020-0291-7
• Tomato locule number and fruit size controlled by natural alleles of lc and fas: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pld3.142
• Tomato locule number and fruit size controlled by natural alleles of lc and fas: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334208182_Tomato_locule_number_and_fruit_size_controlled_by_natural_alleles_of_lc_and_fas
• Genomic Evidence for Complex Domestication History of the Cultivated Tomato in Latin America: https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/37/4/1118/5679792
• Unraveling the genetics of tomato fruit weight during crop domestication and diversification: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00122-021-03902-2

Part 2.

Nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) – Origin and domestication in Mexico

• The origins of an important cactus crop, Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae): new molecular evidence https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.91.11.1915
• The Origins of an Important Cactus Crop, Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae): New Molecular Evidence https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51200911_The_Origins_of_an_Important_Cactus_Crop_Opuntia_ficus-indica_Cactaceae_New_Molecular_Evidence

Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) – Domestication in Mexico

• America's red gold: multiple lineages of cultivated cochineal in Mexico https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4328766/
• Range Wide Phylogeography of Dactylopius coccus (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) https://bioone.org/journalArticle/Download?fullDOI=10.1093%2Faesa%2Fsav017

Cacao (Theobroma cacao) – Origin in Ecuador (Mayo-Chinchipe)

• The Use and Domestication of Theobroma cacao During the mid-Holocene in the Upper Amazon https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0697-x
• A revisited history of cacao domestication in pre-Columbian South America https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-53010-6
• World's oldest chocolate was made 5300 years ago—in a South American rainforest https://www.science.org/content/article/world-s-oldest-chocolate-was-made-5300-years-ago-south-american-rainforest