Hybridization between teosinte and maize in the Ciénega, Jal., México: a narrative proposal on the evolutionary process

Abstract

Natural hybridization between teosinte and maize in commercial fields in the Ciénega de Jalisco, México, is a recent and growing problem. There is a wide range of intermediate morphological variants between teosinte and maize. The basic premise of this work, is that all different kinds of morphological forms achieved by crossbreeding in Poncitlán Jal., belong to the same subspecies; possibly Zea mays ssp mexicana. Another fundamental premise is that these morphological variations represent different steps of the evolutionary process between teosinte and maize. In this article, I seek the principle of continuity that illustrates how the shape of the teosinte and maize changed, and what forces acted upon the plants to produce this new shape.The drastic change in the shape of the orthogonal projection from circular (teosinte) to elliptical (maize) is defined as anamorphosis. Since the amount of surface under the effect of gravity can modify gravimorphogenesis, anamorphosis is vital to our understanding of the evolutionary process. The effect of gravity can reduce the number of branches and lead to the fusion of several pre-corncobs into a macro-corncob. This macro-corncob is product of the combination of opposite forces: gravity, and plant hormones in the meristem. I also suggest the possibility that anamorphosis is caused by the oxidative stress produced by hydrogen sulfide present in lacustrine plains and alluvial fans.