Data from: A Mesoamerican origin of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.). Implications for the conservation of plant genetic resources

Knowledge on the structure and distribution of genetic diversity is a key
aspect in order to plan and execute an efficient conservation and
utilization of the genetic resources of any crop as well as for
determining historical demographic inferences. In this work, a large data
set of 1765 accessions of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill, Annonaceae),
an underutilized fruit tree crop native to the neotropics and used as a
food source by pre-Columbian cultures, was collected from 6 different
countries across the American continent and amplified with 9 highly
informative microsatellite markers. The structure analyses, fine
representation of the genetic diversity and an ABC approach suggest a
Mesoamerican origin of the crop, contrary to previous reports, with clear
implications for the dispersion of plant germplasm between Central and
South America in pre-Columbian times. These results together with the
potential distribution of the species in a climatic change context using
two different climate models provide new insights for the history and
conservation of extant genetic resources of cherimoya that can be applied
to other currently underutilized woody perennial crops.