AS early as 4300 years ago the farmers of Mexico bred maize with many modern characteristics. This was just 2000 years after the first evidence of maize being grown for domestic use.
Teosinte, the grassy ancestor of maize still found in Mexico, looks very different to the food crop. For instance, the wild plant has a more branching shape. Previous comparisons with modern maize have revealed some of the genetic differences responsible. Modern maize has a version of a gene called tb1 that makes the plant less branched, a version of pbf that makes the proteins in the kernels more…
