XVI International Botanical Congess
Cucurbita is one of the most important plant groups found in archaeological records of the New World. The genus comprises both wild and domesticated species. Archaeological data and crossing experiments indicate that the domesticated species are not derived from a common ancestor, suggesting multiple domestication events. Understanding relationships among wild and domesticated will provide clues as to where did domestications occurred. The present study addresses this question by using a molecular approach. Results from this study, using chloroplast, mitochondrial and nuclear markers, showed that mitochondrial genes provide enough phylogenetic signal. The inferred phylogeny for Cucurbita species will be also discussed.