PubMed · 2026-06-13
Scientists sequenced the genomes and gene activity of 558 quinoa plants and 19 wild relatives to uncover how these plants independently evolved to survive high-altitude conditions, finding shared genetic changes in both cultivated quinoa and its wild cousin that control flowering timing, nutrient transport, and seedling growth.
Both cultivated quinoa and its wild relative Chenopodium berlandieri independently evolved the same altitude-adaptation changes in genes controlling flowering time (CONSTANS) and nutrient transport (PTR2), demonstrating parallel evolution across species.
Genome-wide mapping identified 2,659 local (cis) and 407,628 distant (trans) regulatory variants controlling the activity of more than 11,000 genes across the Chenopodium genus.
Large DNA deletions upstream of the ELF3 gene are significantly enriched in highland quinoa populations and are linked to reduced ELF3 expression and elongated seedlings, showing that structural DNA changes—not just point mutations—drive altitude adaptation.
