Molecular Plant Breeding 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 231-240 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/mpb 232 2 Origin and Early Domestication of Durian 2.1 Wild relatives and geographical distribution Durian (Durio zibethinus) originated in Southeast Asia. It is a very representative fruit in that area and an important economic crop (Figure 1) (Khaksar et al., 2024). Its wild relatives are mainly distributed in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. The natural environment in these places is not the same, so the types and appearance of durian are also rich. Scientists use a method called “stable isotopes” and “element composition” to distinguish which country the durian comes from. This shows that durian is widely distributed in Southeast Asia, and durian in different places is also quite different (Zhou et al., 2021). Figure 1 Images of durian (Durio zibethinus L.) fruit: peduncle, peel (husk), aril (pulp), locules, and seed (Adopted from Khaksar et al., 2024) 2.2 Archaeological and historical evidence of durian cultivation Durian has a special taste and rich nutrition. People have been growing it in Southeast Asia for a long time. Although there is not much archaeological evidence of early durian cultivation, it can be inferred that people have long started to select and cultivate it from its widespread cultivation in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia (Aziz and Jalil, 2019). Because durian has a unique aroma and taste, it gradually became an important local fruit. Not only can it be eaten, it also represents a culture. Later, with the development of international trade, durian also slowly went to the world (Ali et al., 2020). 2.3 Initial selection pressures (environmental and human-driven) The domestication process of durian is affected by both the natural environment and human selection. On the one hand, natural conditions such as climate, soil, pests and diseases will affect the growth of durian. These pressures have caused changes in durian in terms of disease resistance, flowering time, and fruit ripening speed (Nawae et al., 2023). On the other hand, people prefer durian with good taste, fine texture, and high nutrition. Therefore, when planting, varieties with strong characteristics will be specially selected for cultivation. Genome research has found that genes related to disease resistance, flowering, and maturity are different in different varieties, some genes have different numbers, and some genes have different expression strengths. These changes reflect that when humans select durian, they have deeply affected its genetic structure and function (Nawae et al., 2023). 3 Genetic Basis of Domestication in Durian 3.1 Overview of durian genome sequencing efforts In recent years, great progress has been made in genome sequencing of durian (Durio zibethinus L.). Researchers have resequenced the whole genomes of three major varieties in Thailand: Kradumthong (KD), Monthong (MT), and Puangmanee (PM). They obtained 832.7 Mb, 762.6 Mb, and 821.6 Mb of genome data, respectively. In these
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==