An Inheritance Study of Domestication in Foxtail Millet Using an Interspecific Cross

In order better to understand domestication processes, the inheritance of eight morphological characters and isozymes was studied in the F₂ progeny of an interspecific cross between a wild and 2 cultivated foxtail millet (Setaria viridis and S. italica). Two linkage groups were determined, one involving seed shedding and the phenol colour reaction of the grain. These two characters, as well as the pericarp pigmentation of the seed, appear to he highly specific for the difference between collections of wild and cultivated plants and probably indicate a genotype particularly suitable for plant domestication.