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The origins and spread of the opium poppy ( Papaver somniferum L.) revealed by genomics and seed morphometrics

dc.contributor.authorMachado, Rui
dc.contributor.authorBonhomme, Vincent
dc.contributor.authorSoteras, Raül
dc.contributor.authorJeanty, Angele
dc.contributor.authorBouby, Laurent
dc.contributor.authorEvin, Allowen
dc.contributor.authorFernandes Martins, Maria João
dc.contributor.authorGonçalves, Sandra
dc.contributor.authorAntolín, Ferran
dc.contributor.authorSalavert, Aurélie
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Hugo
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-04T08:56:02Z
dc.date.available2025-07-04T08:56:02Z
dc.date.issued2025-05-15
dc.description.abstractThe opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is one of the most important plants in human history. It is the main source of opiates used as analgesic medicines or psychotropic drugs, the latter related to addiction problems, illegal trafficking and geopolitical issues. Poppyseed is also used in cooking. The prehistoric origins, domestication and cultivation spread of the opium poppy remain unresolved. Traditionally, Papaver setigerum has been considered the wild ancestor with early cultivation presumed to have occurred in the Western Mediterranean region, where setigerum is autochthonous. Other theories suggest that somniferum may have been introduced by Southwest Asian early farmers as a weed. To investigate these hypotheses, we analysed 190 accessions from 15 Papaver species using genotype-by-sequencing and geometric morphometric (GMM) techniques. Our analysis revealed that setigerum is the only taxa genetically close to somniferum and can be better described as a subspecies. The domesticated plants are, however, distinct from setigerum. Additionally, GMM analysis of seeds also revealed morphological differences between setigerum and somniferum. Some phenotypically wild setigerum accessions exhibited intermediate genetic features, suggesting introgression events. Two major populations were found in somniferum and, to some extent, these correspond to differences in seed form. These two populations may reflect recent attempts to breed varieties rich in opiates, as opposed to varieties used for poppyseed production. This study supports the idea that opium poppy cultivation began in the Western Mediterranean, with setigerum as the wild progenitor, although some wild varieties are likely to be feral forms, which can confound domestication studies.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipPTDC/HAR-ARQ/1709/2021; ANR-21-CE27-0006; CEECIND/00848/2017; 2021.01680.CEECIND; ERC-2019-STG-852573-DEMETER
dc.identifier.doi10.1098/rstb.2024.0198
dc.identifier.eissn1471-2970
dc.identifier.issn0962-8436
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/27351
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherThe Royal Society
dc.relation.ispartofPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectDomestication
dc.subjectOpiates
dc.subjectAgrobiodiversity
dc.subjectPlant genome
dc.subjectSeed morphology
dc.titleThe origins and spread of the opium poppy ( Papaver somniferum L.) revealed by genomics and seed morphometricseng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue1926
oaire.citation.titlePhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
oaire.citation.volume380
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameMachado
person.familyNameFernandes Martins
person.familyNameGonçalves
person.familyNameOliveira
person.givenNameRui
person.givenNameMaria João
person.givenNameSandra
person.givenNameHugo
person.identifierA-6948-2013
person.identifier.ciencia-id5D19-8F5F-3CE1
person.identifier.ciencia-idD91A-79B0-2288
person.identifier.ciencia-id9F19-E3AE-2C59
person.identifier.ciencia-id4515-38C3-60F6
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-4080-2353
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-9118-7397
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-3038-4434
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-5038-073X
person.identifier.ridM-6988-2017
person.identifier.scopus-author-id55991033900
person.identifier.scopus-author-id8583003200
person.identifier.scopus-author-id54682168900
relation.isAuthorOfPublication7786b5c6-964b-4322-8a4e-920652e66880
relation.isAuthorOfPublication9b55b524-d0b3-4c9b-9eaa-a0eeb73f5862
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationa8b335b2-45cc-4578-89b0-153273014280
relation.isAuthorOfPublication6a71f88f-9429-42f2-8d06-04cd6d1a4eeb
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery9b55b524-d0b3-4c9b-9eaa-a0eeb73f5862

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