Two teosintes made modern maize 

Yang et al., 2023 

Extensive population and quantitative genetic analysis of domesticated maize and its wild relatives uncovered a substantial role for two different wild taxa in making modern maize. It is propose a new model for the origin of maize that can explain both genetic and archaeological data, and it is show how variation in Zea mays ssp. mexicana is a key component of maize diversity, both at individual loci and for genetic variation underlying agronomic traits.

The model raises a number of questions about how and why a secondary spread of maize may have occurred, but it is speculate that the timing of admixture suggests a possible direct role for hybridization between maize and Zea mays ssp. mexicana in improving early domesticated forms of maize, helping to transform it into the staple crop we know today.

Admixture analysis reveals widespread contributions of two teosintes to modern maize. (A) Proportion of highland teosinte admixture for traditional maize varieties across the Americas. (B) Admixture graph representing our model of maize evolution. (C) Cartoon depiction of proposed maize domestication and dispersal. (D) Characterization of admixture tracts along maize genomes. (E) Admixture for cob weight reveals a peak on chromosome 1.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg8940