Mengting Luo^1,2 , Zhonggang Li¹

1 Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
2 Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Tropical Animal and Plant Resources Research Center, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/ijmec.2025.15.0001
Received: 21 Nov., 2024    Accepted: 18 Dec., 2024    Published: 08 Jan., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Luo M.T., and Li Z.G., 2025, Domestication history and adaptive genomic variations of pineapple: from wild to cultivated varieties, International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 15(1): 1-8 (doi: 10.5376/ijmec.2025.15.0001)

This time, we studied the domestication process of pineapple (Ananas comosus) and the changes in its genes. This information helps us understand how it evolved step by step and can also help improve the quality of pineapples in the future. In the study, we focused on the changes that occurred in the genes of pineapples during domestication, especially some key mutations that can distinguish wild species from artificial species (that is, varieties grown by humans). We analyzed genomic data from different pineapple species and found signals related to domestication, such as larger fruits, more sugars, and enhanced stress resistance. We also found some interesting phenomena, such as some differences in the genetic composition between cultivated varieties, and introgression between genes. These make them more diverse. At the same time, we also found several genes that may be related to adaptability, such as those that can help pineapples resist drought or saline-alkali environments. Comparative analysis also made us see some things clearly, such as gene duplication and the disappearance of some specific genes, which may be the reasons for helping pineapples become more delicious or more resistant to the environment. Overall, our research reveals how pineapples have adapted to the environment step by step and become as delicious and easy to grow as they are now. These findings will be very helpful for future breeding and improving fruit quality and yield.

Pineapple; Domestication; Genomic variations; Adaptive evolution; Genetic diversity