栽培茶树的驯化起源与传播

茶作为世界上最重要的饮品之一, 其栽培类型的驯化起源一直是人们关注的热点。本文总结了近年相关研究的进展, 讨论了存在的问题, 并对未来的研究方向提出建议。长江流域及以南地区分布有众多栽培茶树的野生近缘种, 特别集中于云南、贵州、广西等地; 一方面南方各族语言中“茶”发音的相似, 暗示了茶知识起源的单一性, 最可能起源于古代的巴蜀或云南, 另一方面遗传分析揭示栽培的茶存在多个起源中心, 即使Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze的几个栽培变种也可能起源于不同的地区; 文献记载, 茶的栽培中心曾经从西向东再向南迁移, 遗传多样性的变化也揭示了这一可能性, 但考古发现却提示最早的栽培茶可能出现在长江流域的最东部。我们推测在茶知识及栽培品种的传播过程中, 各地野生近缘植物的基因渗入栽培类型中, 或各地居民直接用当地野生茶培育出新的栽培茶类型, 从而导致遗传上的复杂性和语言上的一致性并存。茶树的祖先类型、起源地点、起源时间以及栽培品种的演变历程都还需要更为明确的证据, 未来应该以整个茶组植物为对象, 将茶文化、群体遗传学、谱系地理、人类学、气候变化、考古等多学科研究进行整合分析。

Domestication origin and spread of cultivated tea plants

Tea is the most popular non-alcoholic beverage in the world. The domestication origin of cultivated tea plants has always been a focus of ecological research. This article summarizes the recent research progress, discusses remaining questions and makes suggestions for future research directions. Many wild relatives of cultivated tea plants are distributed in the Yangtze River Basin and its southern reaches, particularly in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces. The pronunciation of “cha” is similar in the languages of southern ethnic groups, implying a single domestication origin of cultivated tea plants, most likely from ancient Bashu or Yunnan. However, studies on genetic structure reveal that multiple centers occur in the domestication origin of cultivated tea plants. For example, cultivated Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze, including some varieties, may have multiple domestication events. According to research from historical text, the cultivation center of tea plants migrated from west to east and then to south, which is supported by changes in genetic diversity. However, the first cultivated tea plant might have arisen in the most eastern region of the Yangtze River Basin based on a recent archaeological finding. We speculate that during the spread of tea knowledge, cultivated varieties introgression occurred from wild relatives to cultivars, or new cultivated tea plants were directly domesticated from local wild tea plants, leading to the genetic complexity and the language consistency of cultivated tea plants. More evidence is needed to confirm the ancestral types, origin sites and time, and domestication processes of cultivated tea plants, and the integration anaylysis of multiple disciplines such as tea culture, population genetics, phylogeography, anthropology, climate change, and archaeology should be more encouraged.