International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 1-8 http://ecoevopublisher.com/index.php/ijmec 2 some of the key genetic variations and adaptation mechanisms currently known, and finally sees whether these findings can help with future breeding and how to use them in practice to make breeding more efficient. 2 Origin and Early Domestication of Pineapple 2.1 Wild ancestors and their geographical distribution It is now generally believed that the genus Ananas, including the cultivated pineapples we eat, originated from South America. Wild species such as Ananas comosus var. microstachys and Ananas parguazensis are mainly distributed in the northern Amazon region (d’Eeckenbrugge et al., 2018; VanBuren, 2018). These wild pineapples help us better understand the genetic characteristics of pineapples and how they evolved. Based on the distribution of these ancestral species, Guyana is likely to be the first place where pineapples were domesticated. The western Amazon may be another center, where pineapples have undergone genetic recombination brought about by sexual reproduction (d’Eeckenbrugge et al., 2018). 2.2 History of early cultivation by indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples in South America actually started to grow pineapples very early. According to archaeological and linguistic studies, they have been growing and eating pineapples in the Amazon basin and the coast of Peru for more than 3 000 years. In Central America, there is also a history of cultivation of about 2 500 years (d’Eeckenbrugge et al., 2018). These early cultivation activities show that pineapple was an important crop in the community at that time. 2.3 Archaeological and historical evidence of pineapple domestication Many archaeological discoveries and literature have proved that the domestication process of pineapple began as early as 6 000 years ago. Varieties such as “Smooth Cayenne”, which are still common today, were slowly cultivated at that time (Sanewski, 2018). In the process of pineapple domestication, sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction actually work together. This is different from our general view that clonal crops are “domesticated in one step” (VanBuren, 2018; Chen et al., 2019). In addition, historical data also mentioned that in the 16th century, Portuguese merchants brought pineapples from Brazil to tropical regions in Asia and Africa. This further shows that pineapples were widely planted and had a great influence at that time (d’Eeckenbrugge et al., 2018). 3 Morphological and Physiological Changes During Domestication 3.1 Key phenotypic differences between wild and cultivated varieties During the process of being domesticated by humans, the appearance and characteristics of pineapples have changed a lot. Compared with wild species, cultivated pineapples are usually larger, sweeter, and have fewer seeds. These characteristics were deliberately selected to make pineapples more delicious and easier to sell (Figure 1) (d’Eeckenbrugge et al., 2018; Chen et al., 2019). Most cultivated pineapples are now grown asexually. This ensures that good characteristics are passed down from generation to generation and are not easy to change (d’Eeckenbrugge et al., 2018). 3.2 Adaptability to different environments The reason why pineapples can grow in various environments, especially in arid areas, is mainly because of its special photosynthesis method. It uses a method called “crassulacean acid metabolism” (CAM). This method can save more water, so pineapples can grow well in semi-arid areas (Ming et al., 2015; Zhu and Ming, 2019). CAM photosynthesis is a "transformation" of the original C3 mode, which helps pineapples continue to grow even when water is scarce (Ming et al., 2015). In addition, in cultivated pineapples, the expression of some genes that control water transport (such as aquaporin genes) is different from that of wild species. These genes not only affect fruit development, but also allow pineapples to better adapt to different climates (Zhu and Ming, 2019). 4 Genomic Insights into Pineapple Domestication 4.1 Overview of genomic studies on pineapple Recently, scientists have done a lot of research on the pineapple genome. These studies have given us a better understanding of how pineapples were “domesticated” by humans. They measured the genes of several pineapple varieties, including Ananas comosus var. bracteatus and other common cultivated varieties. The study found that
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