The new genetic study revealed that the watermelon originated in East Africa, not West Africa, as previously thought.
Archaeologists recently discovered a drawing of a watermelon along with other fruits on the wall of a tomb dating from 4,300 years ago in Egypt.
This ancient drawing baffled scientists who thought the wild ancestors of the watermelon originated on the African continent. How did this fruit reach the Nile delta thousands of years ago?
One prominent theory of the fruit suggested that the egusi watermelon, grown for its seeds in West Africa, was the ancestor of the modern watermelon. Accordingly, the watermelon originated in West Africa.
But the study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PNAS, revealed that the small, round Kordofan watermelon native to the East African country of Sudan is genetically much more closely related to the modern watermelon.
The findings mean that the watermelon is actually East African. In addition, since Kordofan is not very far from Egypt, the watermelon picture found in the tomb in question becomes clear.
The Kordofan watermelon, about 15 centimeters wide, white inside and lightly streaked and green outside, has long been cultivated by farmers in Sudan.
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In fact, in the late 1800s, a German botanist wrote that this fruit may be the ancestor of the modern watermelon. Later, Soviet scientists also worked on this theory.
Most members of the watermelon genus have a bitter content. But Kordofan watermelon is sweet. This suggested that he or one of his ancestors could be the origin of the modern watermelon.
Contributing to the article, the researchers sequenced the genomes of 7 watermelon species. Genetic analysis revealed that Kordofan watermelon had more overlap with modern watermelon compared to West African egusi watermelon or others.
"We're really confident that this is the closest relative of the modern watermelon," said Guillaume Chomicki, a botanist at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and co-author of the paper.
Dr. Chomicki and colleagues aim to determine where and when people introduced wild watermelons into a more edible form.
To this end, the researchers plan to sequence the genomes of watermelon seeds found at archaeological sites in Africa.