Biomolecular evidence for plant domestication in Sahul

The question of the introduction of domesticated plants from the Sunda plat e (South-east Asia) to Sahul (New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania) has been a subject of speculation and debate for decades. This paper reviews recent phylogenetic studies conducted with biomolecular markers on bananas (Musa s pp.), breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), taro (Co locasia esculenta) and the greater yam (Dioscorea alata). Biomolecular evid ence for plant domestication in Sahul is presented and discussed. Biomolecu lar markers reveal that for these crops at least, domestication has occurre d in New Guinea and further east in Melanesia. This domestication produced cultivated genotypes that were selected from the endemic wild gene pools. T hese areas of domestication still are important centres of diversity for cr op species that also exist in Asia. For most crops, genetic distances are v ery important between the two gene pools due to the geographic isolation of the two continental plates. The implications of these findings have obviou s bearings on genetic resources programme strategies and future surveys.