International Journal of Molecular Evolution and Biodiversity, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 1-9 http://ecoevopublisher.com/index.php/ijmeb 3 genes (Nawae et al., 2023). Scientists used a method called "whole genome resequencing" to find out their genetic differences. In the past, people mainly relied on experience to grow durian. Whoever’s durian had large fruits, good taste, and ripened quickly would be kept and continued to grow. After generations of selection, the appearance and taste of durian gradually became fixed (Hannum et al., 2020). Now, scientists also use a technology called “SSR” to study the genes of durian. They can draw a “family tree” of durian and know which varieties are relatives and which are far apart. In the past, planting durian also depended on the weather. For example, Malaysia has a lot of rain, so the locals choose those varieties that are not afraid of rain. Now scientists not only look at what durian looks like, but also analyze the genes to see which durian everyone likes most (Huy et al., 2023). 3 Gene Flow Between Wild Populations and Cultivated Varieties 3.1 Genetic exchange mechanism of durian Wild durian and human-grown durian often exchange genes. There are two main ways to do this: one is to rely on animals to help spread pollen, and the other is for people to deliberately crossbreed them when planting. The most common animals for pollination are bats and bees. For example, flying bats (Pteropodidae) will fly to the durian tree to eat nectar. When they eat, they will accidentally take away the pollen and bring it to other trees, thus helping the durian to complete pollination (Figure 1) (Hannum et al., 2020). The role of bees is similar. When humans grow durian, they will also specially select some trees with large fruits and good taste to breed. This selective breeding method has led to more mixing between durian varieties. Gradually, gene exchange has increased. Siew et al. (2018) used two technologies, SSR and RAPD, to analyze the genes of durian. They found that there were traces of mixing between many durian populations. This shows that gene exchange between wild durian and artificially grown durian is common and long-standing. Figure 1 (a) Island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus); (b) Close-up of durian flower showing Apis dorsata foraging on anthers; (c) Deployment of camera stations in durian (Durio zibethinus) trees; (d) Durian fruit set (Adopted from Aziz et al., 2017) 3.2 Genomic studies on genetic variation In recent years, more and more scientists have begun to study the genes of durian. For example, Nawae et al. (2023) used the method of “genome resequencing” to compare durian from Thailand and Malaysia. They found that although these durians look similar, they have many differences in genes. This shows that they may have taken different paths in evolution. They also used another method called SSR. This method can look more carefully and find out the genetic differences between durian varieties. Sometimes, durians that look similar are actually very different in genes. This also tells us that it is impossible to tell whether they are relatives just by looking at their appearance. Teh et al. (2017) also found some particularly important genes. These genes affect durian's tolerance to water and salt, and also affect when the fruit matures. Some durians have a lot of these genes, probably because the environment where they grow is relatively special and they need to adapt to different
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