De novo domestication

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De novo domestication is a process where new species are genetically altered to meet human needs, such as agriculture or companionship. It is performed both by farmers and scientists, and can be done through traditional selective breeding or modern biotechnological methods. Targets for de novo domestication are often species that have never been under cultivation, but may also include wild relatives of already domesticated species.

Contents

Definition

De novo domestication refers to the process by which wild species are intentionally transformed into domesticated varieties. [1] The majority of domesticated species has been under domestication for millenia, with the first animal, the dog, having been under domestication for between 40,000-30,000 years, and the first plants since the start of the Neolithic Revolution, approximately 12,000 years ago. [2] [3] This initial process of domestication is hypothesized to have been a passive process, resulting from the subconcious selection of individuals performing better in agricultural contexts. [4] The scientific field of de novo domestication seeks to domesticate new species in an accelerated manner as opposed to over the course of thousands of years, as more domesticated species may provide an advantage to humanity, especially in agriculture. [1] Newly domesticated crop species may allow for alternatives to agricultural extensification in regions where yields are plateauing, make agricultural systems more resilient to climate change, and increase the sustainability of agriculture. [5] [6] [7]

It is important to note that de novo domestication does not only happen in a scientific context, but that the active domestication of new species is also performed by farmers, especially in the Global South. The collection and subsequent agricultural integration of traditionally wild-gathered food plants still happens to this day, and also constitutes de novo domestication. [8]

The terminology in the scientific field of domestication is improperly standardized, with the same term meaning different things to different scientists. [9] This means that in some cases, de novo domestication is solely used for species that have no history of domestication, while in other cases, it can be used to describe further studies into semi-domesticated crops, which already have gone through (early) stages of domestication. [10]

In plants

The study of de novo domestication is most prevalent in plants, due to the implications new crops may bring to agriculture. There are two potential applications to the study of de novo domestication in plant sciences: the introduction of novel crops into agricultural systems and the redomestication of wild relatives of conventionally domesticated crops. [1]

Novel species

A nursery in a project aiming at the de novo domestication of Thinopyrum intermedium (intermediate wheatgrass), a perennial grain. Thinopyrum intermedium first year nursery.JPG
A nursery in a project aiming at the de novo domestication of Thinopyrum intermedium (intermediate wheatgrass), a perennial grain.

The introduction of novel species into agricultural systems has the potential to radically alter their workings. One set of candidates for de novo domestication perennial grains, cereal crops that can be harvested for multiple seasons after planting, as opposed to the annual grains that dominate agriculture. [11] The successful de novo domestication of a perennial grain would drastically reduce the need for yearly plowing, seedling protection and energy spent on reaching maturity, thus decreasing environmental impact and labour use. [7] The de novo domestication of tropical fruit trees is suggested to be able to help address 14 out of 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, either directly or indirectly. [12]

Redomestication

Another use for de novo domestication is the redomestication of wild relatives of domesticated crops. Through millennia under selection, most domesticated crops have undergone many genetic bottlenecks, drastically reducing their genetic diversity, and thus the ability to breed in new traits. [13] Meanwhile, these bottlenecked crops have been spread over the entire world, and are often grown in areas with climates that differ significantly from their genetic center of origin. [14] Redomestication of crop wild relatives may offer a solution to long-term, repetitive plant breeding projects seeking to integrate wild relative DNA from the center of origin into established hybrid cultivars. [1] [15] [16] This is especially relevant for crops that are reproductively incompatible with their wild relatives through processes such as polyploidization, such as hexaploid wheat, where integration of wild relative DNA through traditional breeding projects is difficult. [17]

In animals

Lyudmila Trut with a domesticated silver fox, 1974 L. Trut and domestic Fox-1974.jpg
Lyudmila Trut with a domesticated silver fox, 1974

The de novo domestication of animals has less scientific traction than that of plants, but one notable project is that undertaken by the Russian Institute of Cytology and Genetics to domesticate the fox. [18] This project aimed to study the theory of evolution and domestication syndrome by attempting the domestication of foxes, but was not primarily aimed at providing a new domesticated animal. [18] De novo domestication of fish, either in the ornamental aquarium trade or for the purposes of pisciculture is also ongoing. [19] [20]

In fungi

Fungiculture, the cultivation of fungi such as mushrooms, has historically been less important than horticulture or animal husbandry in providing food for humans. Mushrooms were often gathered from the wild, but the knowledge to do so has largely disappeared in the Global North due to lifestyle changes and urbanization, prompting an increased need for mushroom cultivation. [21] As a result, many fungi were de novo domesticated, such as snow fungus (1866), oyster mushroom (1917), and milky white mushroom (1974). [22] [23] A fungus that has been notoriously difficult to bring under cultivation is white truffle, and projects to de novo domesticate it are running. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture</span> Cultivation of plants and animals to provide useful products

Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities. While humans started gathering grains at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers only began planting them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world. In the 20th century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monocultures came to dominate agricultural output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oat</span> Cool weather staple grain, animal feed

The oat, sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name. Oats are used for human consumption as oatmeal, including as steel cut oats or rolled oats. They appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop as their seeds resembled those of other cereals closely enough for them to be included by early cultivators. Oats are a nutrient-rich food associated with lower blood cholesterol and reduced risk of human heart disease when consumed regularly. One of the most common uses of oats is as livestock feed; the crop can also be grown as groundcover and ploughed in as a green manure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Einkorn wheat</span> Primitive wheat

Einkorn wheat can refer either to a wild species of wheat (Triticum) or to its domesticated form. The wild form is T. boeoticum, and the domesticated form is T. monococcum. Einkorn is a diploid species of hulled wheat, with tough glumes ('husks') that tightly enclose the grains. The cultivated form is similar to the wild, except that the ear stays intact when ripe and the seeds are larger. The domestic form is known as "petit épeautre" in French, "Einkorn" in German, "einkorn" or "littlespelt" in English, "piccolo farro" in Italian and "escanda menor" in Spanish. The name refers to the fact that each spikelet contains only one grain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmer</span> Type of wheat

Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid. The domesticated types are Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum and T. t. conv. durum. The wild plant is called T. t. subsp. dicoccoides. The principal difference between the wild and the domestic forms is that the ripened seed head of the wild plant shatters and scatters the seed onto the ground, while in the domesticated emmer, the seed head remains intact, thus making it easier for humans to harvest the grain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestication</span> Selective breeding of plants and animals to serve humans

Domestication is a multi-generational mutualistic relationship in which an animal species, such as humans or leafcutter ants, takes over control and care of another species, such as sheep or fungi, so as to obtain from them a steady supply of resources, such as meat, milk, or labor. The process is gradual and geographically diffuse, based on trial and error.

<i>Cicer</i> Genus of flowering plants

Cicer is a genus of the legume family, Fabaceae, and the only genus found in tribe Cicereae. It is included within the IRLC, and its native distribution is across the Middle East and Asia. Its best-known and only domesticated member is Cicer arietinum, the chickpea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowpea</span> Species of plant

The cowpea is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Founder crops</span> Original agricultural crops

The founder crops or primary domesticates are a group of flowering plants that were domesticated by early farming communities in Southwest Asia and went on to form the basis of agricultural economies across Eurasia. As originally defined by Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, they consisted of three cereals, four pulses, and flax. Subsequent research has indicated that many other species could be considered founder crops. These species were amongst the first domesticated plants in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of agriculture</span>

Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least eleven separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin. The development of agriculture about 12,000 years ago changed the way humans lived. They switched from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to permanent settlements and farming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxonomy of wheat</span> Classification of wheat

During 10,000 years of cultivation, numerous forms of wheat, many of them hybrids, have developed under a combination of artificial and natural selection. This diversity has led to much confusion in the naming of wheats. Genetic and morphological characteristics of wheat influence its classification; many common and botanical names of wheat are in current use.

<i>Sorghum</i> Species of plant

Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the grass genus Sorghum cultivated for its grain. The grain is used for food for humans; the plant is used for animal feed and ethanol production. Sorghum originated in Africa, and is now cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triticeae</span> Tribe of grasses

Triticeae is a botanical tribe within the subfamily Pooideae of grasses that includes genera with many domesticated species. Major crop genera found in this tribe include wheat, barley, and rye; crops in other genera include some for human consumption, and others used for animal feed or rangeland protection. Among the world's cultivated species, this tribe has some of the most complex genetic histories. An example is bread wheat, which contains the genomes of three species with only one being a wheat Triticum species. Seed storage proteins in the Triticeae are implicated in various food allergies and intolerances.

<i>Chenopodium berlandieri</i> Species of edible flowering plant

Chenopodium berlandieri, also known by the common names pitseed goosefoot, lamb's quarters, and huauzontle (Nahuatl) is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Amaranthaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genetic pollution</span> Problematic gene flow into wild populations

Genetic pollution is a term for uncontrolled gene flow into wild populations. It is defined as "the dispersal of contaminated altered genes from genetically engineered organisms to natural organisms, esp. by cross-pollination", but has come to be used in some broader ways. It is related to the population genetics concept of gene flow, and genetic rescue, which is genetic material intentionally introduced to increase the fitness of a population. It is called genetic pollution when it negatively impacts the fitness of a population, such as through outbreeding depression and the introduction of unwanted phenotypes which can lead to extinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vavilov center</span> Area where domestication traits arise

A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov.

<i>Thinopyrum intermedium</i> Species of flowering plant

Thinopyrum intermedium, known commonly as intermediate wheatgrass, is a sod-forming perennial grass in the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae native to Europe and Western Asia. It is part of a group of plants commonly called wheatgrasses because of the similarity of their seed heads or ears to common wheat. However, wheatgrasses generally are perennial, while wheat is an annual. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perennial grain</span> Grain crops that remain productive for two or more years without replanting

A perennial grain is a grain crop that lives and remains productive for two or more years, rather than growing for only one season before harvest, like most grains and annual crops. While many fruit, nut and forage crops are long-lived perennial plants, all major grain crops presently used in large-scale agriculture are annuals or short-lived perennials grown as annuals. Scientists from several nations have argued that perennial versions of today's grain crops could be developed and that these perennial grains could make grain agriculture more sustainable.

Perennial crops are a perennial plant species that are cultivated and live longer than two years without the need of being replanted each year. Naturally perennial crops include many fruit and nut crops; some herbs and vegetables also qualify as perennial. Perennial crops have been cultivated for thousands of years; their cultivation differs from the mainstream annual agriculture because regular tilling is not required and this results in decreased soil erosion and increased soil health. Some perennial plants that are not cultivated as perennial crops are tomatoes, whose vines can live for several years but often freeze and die in winters outside of temperate climates, and potatoes which can live for more than two years but are usually harvested yearly. Despite making up 94% of plants on earth, perennials take up only 13% of global cropland. In contrast, grain crops take up about 70% of global cropland and global caloric consumption and are largely annual plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annual vs. perennial plant evolution</span>

Annuality and perenniality represent major life history strategies within plant lineages. These traits can shift from one to another over both macroevolutionary and microevolutionary timescales. While perenniality and annuality are often described as discrete either-or traits, they often occur in a continuous spectrum. The complex history of switches between annual and perennial habit involve both natural and artificial causes, and studies of this fluctuation have importance to sustainable agriculture.

<i>Silphium integrifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Silphium integrifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Its common names include rosinweed, whole-leaf rosinweed, entire-leaf rosinweed, prairie rosinweed, and silflower. It is native to eastern North America, including Ontario in Canada and the eastern and central United States as far west as New Mexico.

References

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  10. ↑ Zhang, J.; Yu, H.; Li, J. (2023). "De novo domestication: retrace the history of agriculture to design future crops". Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 81: 102946. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102946. PMID   37080109.
  11. ↑ Wagoner P, Schaeffer JR (1990-01-01). "Perennial grain development: Past efforts and potential for the future". Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences. 9 (5): 381–408. Bibcode:1990CRvPS...9..381W. doi:10.1080/07352689009382298.
  12. ↑ Leakey, R. R. B. (2017). Multifunctional Agriculture: Achieving sustainable development in Africa. Academic Press. pp. 417–420.
  13. ↑ Smýkal, P.; Nelson, M. N.; Berger, J. D.; Von Wettberg, E. J. (2018). "The impact of genetic changes during crop domestication". Agronomy. 8 (7): 119. doi: 10.3390/agronomy8070119 .
  14. ↑ Drewnowski, A.; Popkin, B. M. (1997). "The nutrition transition: new trends in the global diet". Nutrition Reviews. 55 (2): 31–43. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.1997.tb01593.x. hdl: 2027.42/72461 . PMID   9155216.
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  19. ↑ Teletcha, F. (2016). "Domestication level of the most popular aquarium fish species: is the aquarium trade dependent on wild populations" (PDF). Cybium. 40 (1): 21–29.
  20. ↑ Vandeputte, M.; Gagnaire, P. A.; Allal, F. (2019). "The European sea bass: a key marine fish model in the wild and in aquaculture". Animal Genetics. 50 (3): 195–206. doi:10.1111/age.12779. PMC   6593706 . PMID   30883830.
  21. ↑ Grimm, D.; Wösten, H. A. (2018). "Mushroom cultivation in the circular economy". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 102 (18): 7795–7803. doi:10.1007/s00253-018-9226-8. PMC   6132538 . PMID   30027491.
  22. ↑ Singh, R. P.; Mishra, K. K. (2008). "Mushroom Cultivation" (PDF). Plant Pathology.
  23. ↑ Jongman, M.; Khare, K. B.; Loeto, D. (2018). "Oyster mushroom cultivation at different production systems" (PDF). European Journal of Biomedical and Parmaceutical Sciences. 5 (5): 72–79.
  24. ↑ Zambonelli, A.; Iotti, M.; Puliga, F.; Hall, I. R. (2021). "Enhancing White Truffle (Tuber magnatum Picco and T. Borchii Vittad.) Cultivation Through Biotechnology Innovation". Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies: Vegetable Crops. pp. 505–532. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-66969-0_14. ISBN   978-3-030-66968-3.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
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