Evolutionary origins of taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Southeast Asia

Ibrar Ahmed; Peter J Lockhart; Esperanza M G Agoo; Kyaw W Naing; Dzu V Nguyen; Dilip K Medhi; Peter J Matthews

doi:10.1002/ece3.6958

Evolutionary origins of taro (Colocasia esculenta) in Southeast Asia

Ecol Evol. 2020 Nov 2;10(23):13530-13543. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6958. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Ibrar Ahmed^{1

2}, Peter J Lockhart¹, Esperanza M G Agoo³, Kyaw W Naing⁴, Dzu V Nguyen⁵, Dilip K Medhi⁶, Peter J Matthews⁷

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Fundamental Sciences Massey University Palmerston North New Zealand.
² Alpha Genomics Private Limited Islamabad Pakistan.
³ Biology Department De La Salle University Manila Philippines.
⁴ Vegetable and Fruit Research and Development Center Hlegu Myanmar.
⁵ Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources & Graduate University of Science and Technology Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology Hanoi Vietnam.
⁶ Department of Anthropology Gauhati University Guwahati India.
⁷ Department of Cross-Field Research National Museum of Ethnology Osaka Japan.

Abstract

As an ancient clonal root and leaf crop, taro (Colocasia esculenta, Araceae) is highly polymorphic with uncertain genetic and geographic origins. We explored chloroplast DNA diversity in cultivated and wild taros, and closely related wild taxa, and found cultivated taro to be polyphyletic, with tropical and temperate clades that appear to originate in Southeast Asia sensu lato. A third clade was found exclusively in wild populations from Southeast Asia to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Our findings do not support the hypothesis of taro domestication in Papua New Guinea, despite archaeological evidence for early use or cultivation there, and the presence of apparently natural wild populations in the region (Australia and Papua New Guinea).

Keywords: Araceae; chloroplast DNA; cultivated; domestication; evolution; wild.

Associated data

Dryad/10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6dpj