History, evolution and domestication of garlic: a review

Abstract

The center of origin of garlic (Allium sativum L.) and its closest wild relative, Allium longicuspis, is considered Central Asia. Religious writings, historical records and ancient medical texts, especially from the Mediterranean and Asia, have repeatedly referenced and/or prescribed the use of garlic in health and disease. More recent studies have demonstrated that allicin and other garlic organosulfur compounds exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial and antimycotic effects. Garlic has been classified based on growth traits, morphology, presence/absence of flowering stalk, isozymes profiles, molecular markers and ecophysiological characteristics. In a recent intrageneric classification of Allium based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, garlic is typus species of genus, subgenus and section Allium, which includes 15 sections and around 300 species. Garlic is considered sterile and is mostly propagated asexually, but fertile wild garlic has been discovered and collected in its center of origin, in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Genetic and environmental factors affecting fertility and true seed production have been identified and studied, and Bt-resistant transgenic lines have been developed. Herein, we reviewed and critically discussed garlic historic and current use, its taxonomic and informal classifications, molecular mechanisms of garlic sterility, and progresses made toward unlocking sexual reproduction and its potential impact for garlic breeding and production.