Out of the tens of thousands of edible species, only 2500 species of plants underwent any human selection, and only 250 species are currently considered domesticated. Before agriculture began in the Neolithic, humans in the Fertile Crescent exploited a large diversity of plants, collecting and cultivating them, but many were abandoned.

While the occurrence of domestication and the development of agriculture are considered a pivotal point in human history, one significant question remains. What made certain wild plants more likely to be successfully domesticated? A potential answer to this question lies in mutation rate. Domestication relies on novel phenotypes, therefore if novel phenotypes arise more quickly in some species than others, humans may favour these species, continuing to grow them, and abandoning others.

Using transcriptomic data, the rate of mutation has been estimated for crop progenitors (those that were domesticated) and never-domesticated close relatives, which could, in theory, have been domesticated. In addition, a dN/dS analysis has been carried out to investigate selection across these species. We focused on two main groups of edible plants – legumes and cereals from the Fertile Crescent – including some which were likely managed during the Neolithic and then abandoned as a crop.

Taking this alongside other factors that could have influenced the ‘domesticability’ of some species over others, our work opens a discussion about whether certain species are predisposed to succeed under certain conditions. It therefore has implications for using neo-domestication to ensure food security and for biodiversity response in a changing climate.