Unravelling the impact of domestication on competitive ability in durum wheat: A phenotypic plasticity perspective

The need to address the impact of domestication on plant traits is frequently highlighted in modern agriculture. It is often argued that domesticated plants have lost competitive ability due to reduced phenotypic plasticity. This study examines whether domestication has affected competitive ability, functional trait values, and plasticity in durum wheat across 39 genotypes representing four key stages of domestication, from wild progenitors to modern elite varieties. Plants were grown in pots, both alone and in competition with a same neighboring genotype. Biomass, and above- and belowground traits were measured at the end of the vegetative stage. Our results show that the three domesticated groups lost less biomass in response to competition compared to their wild progenitors. All genotypes developed thinner leaves and thicker roots when grown with a neighbor. While wild progenitors exhibited the highest plasticity, this did not translate to a greater competitive ability. These finding..., , , # Data from: Unravelling the impact of domestication on competitive ability in durum wheat: A phenotypic plasticity perspective

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t1g1jwtbk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t1g1jwtbk)

## Description of the data acquisition context

```
Data where collected on 39 accessions from the domestication history of the tetraploid wheat: 10 wild emmer accessions of the wild progenitor T. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides (W), 10 accessions of the first domesticated emmer T. turgidum ssp. dicoccum (FD), 10 landrace accessions of durum wheat T. turgidum ssp. durum belonging to the pre-Green Revolution period (DL), and 9 elite accessions of durum wheat registered in Europe after the Green Revolution (DE). Seeds were originally gathered from internationa seed collections (Table 1). To ensure genetic homogeneity of seeds within accessions, accessions were further reproduced by successive self-fertilizations in common gardens by INRAE UMR AGAP, Montpellier, France.
```

###### *Ex...