Ancient people relied on genetic variation already present in wild plants to domesticate crops like rice and corn

October 12, 2026 · 12:19 pm 2 sources

Image: The Conversation

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• Ancient people relied on genetic variation already present in wild plants to domesticate crops like rice and corn
  This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. · October 12, 2026 12:19
  New genomic tools let scientists dig into the family trees of crops like rice, corn and adzuki beans to learn more about how they transitioned from wild plants to domesticated crops.

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• Ancient people relied on genetic variation already present in wild plants to domesticate crops like rice and corn
  Phys.org · October 12, 2026 17:00
  Oryza rufipogon is an ordinary-looking wild grass found today in parts of China, India and Southeast Asia. More than 8,000 years ago, people living in the Lower Yangtze Valley began cultivating it.