Routes to the Pacific

2003/03/11 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Genetika
• Giza zientziak

The man migrated from Indonesia to Australia and the Pacific islands. However, it is difficult to say how and where he made that path, as migration routes are very complex.

Now, researchers at the New York Botanical Garden have proposed following the expansion of a plant to learn more about these paths. According to botanists, the plant of Artocarpus altilis was carried by man from one island to another. Therefore, the study of where and when this plant appeared allows to guess human movements.

The plant produces a sweet fruit that grows on the Pacific Islands to the Caribbean. In order to clarify the trajectory of this plant, scientists will use genetic studies, since the knowledge of the plant in which the genes of the different varieties appear can be an indication of their origin.