Were Fertile Crescent crop progenitors higher yielding than other wild species that were never domesticated?

Were Fertile Crescent crop progenitors higher yielding than other wild species that were never domesticated?

During the origin of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent, the broad spectrum of wild plant species exploited by hunter-gatherers narrowed dramatically. The mechanisms responsible for this specialization and the associated domestication of plants are intensely debated. We investigated why some species were domesticated rather than others, and which traits they shared. We tested whether the proge...

Preece, Catherine and Livarda, Alexandra and Wallace, Michael and Martin, Gemma and Charles, Michael and Christin, Pascal-Antoine and Jones, Glynis and Rees, Mark and Osborne, Colin P. (2015) Were Fertile Crescent crop progenitors higher yielding than other wild

Functional Traits Differ between Cereal Crop Progenitors and Other Wild Grasses Gathered in the Neolithic Fertile Crescent

The reasons why some plant species were selected as crops and others were abandoned during the Neolithic emergence of agriculture are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that the traits of Fertile Crescent crop progenitors were advantageous in the fertile, disturbed habitats surrounding early settlements and in cultivated fields. We screened functional traits related to competition and ...

The complex origins of domesticated crops in the Fertile Crescent.

A combination of genetics and archaeology is revealing the complexity of the relationships between crop plants and their wild ancestors. Archaeobotanical studies are showing that acquisition of the full set of traits observed in domesticated cereals was a protracted process, intermediate stages being seen at early farming sites throughout the Fertile Crescent. New genetic data are confirming th...

Pulmonary hypertension drugs were never properly tested in heart failure.

Correspondence Financial/nonfi nancial disclosures: The authors have reported to CHEST the following confl icts of interest: Dr Lip has served as a consultant for Bayer; Astellas Pharma; Merck & Co; Sanofi ; Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfi zer Inc; Daiichi Sankyo, Inc; BIOTRONIK; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc; and Boehringer-Ingelheim GmbH and has been on the speakers’ bureau of Bayer, Bristol-Myers Sq...