Evolutionary relationships, hybridization and diversification under domestication of the locoto chile () and its wild relatives.

Patterns of genetic variation in crops are the result of multiple processes that have occurred during their domestication and improvement, and are influenced by their wild progenitors that often remain understudied. The locoto chile, , is a crop grown mainly in mid-highlands of South-Central America. This species is not known from the wild and exists only as a cultigen.

Geographical Patterns of Genetic Variation in Locoto Chile () in the Americas Inferred by Genome-Wide Data Analysis.

The locoto chile () is a regionally important food crop grown and marketed throughout the mid-highlands of South andCentral America, but little is known about its evolution and the diversity it harbours. An initial scan of genetic diversity and structure across its cultivation range was conducted, the first one using a genomic approach. The RAD-sequencing methodology was applied to a sampling of germplasm consisting of 67 accessions from different American countries, covering its range of distribution/cultivation on the continent.