Editing Cicer (section)

==Evolution==
The genus, ''Cicer'', is composed of many species with different characteristics that make it an interesting candidate for a food crop. Currently, only one species of ''Cicer'', the modern chickpea, is domesticated as a cultivar, but there are many other options researchers are considering for further domestication and expansion into perennial crops. One of the most promising options that could lead to the expansion into perennial crops is hybridization between annual and perennial species. However, hybridization is only possible and/or successful between certain species, which have not been determined.

The first step in this expansion is to examine the relationships between perennial and annual species of ''Cicer'' both morphologically and genetically to identify possible candidate species. Unfortunately, research shows stark morphological differences between perennial and annual species of ''Cicer'' which hints at difficulty that could result from attempting to cross these species into a hybridized species. More specifically, a study examining the seed coat morphology at several specific gene loci compared annual and perennial species that showed very distinct differences between the two branches of ''Cicer''.<ref name=Javadi>{{cite journal|last1=Javadi|first1=F|last2=Yamaguchi|first2=H|title=RAPD and seed coat morphology variation in annual and perennial species of the genus ''Cicer'' L.|journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution|date=2004|volume=51|issue=7|pages=783–794|doi=10.1023/b:gres.0000034584.43689.f1|bibcode=2004GRCEv..51..783J|s2cid=35822748}}</ref> The research was able to create phylogenetic trees tracking the genetic divergence of ''Cicer'' species, and the data indicate "the rapid species differentiation of ''[[Monocicer]]'' including adaptation to the disturbed environment," showing much distance between annual species (''Monocicer'') and perennial species of ''Cicer''.<ref name=Javadi/>

Further research into these relationships has been performed to analyze the relatedness of perennial and annual species, both cultivated and wild, at 12 loci to see how closely they are related.<ref name=Kence>{{cite journal|last1=Sudupak|first1=MA|last2=Kence|first2=A|title=Genetic relationships among perennial and annual ''Cicer'' species growing in Turkey as revealed by allozymes|journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution|date=2004|volume=51|issue=3|pages=241–249|doi=10.1023/b:gres.0000024009.50555.e8|bibcode=2004GRCEv..51..241S |s2cid=21478760}}</ref> The researchers were able to narrow down one perennial species, ''C. incisum'', that was more closely related to annual plants than other perennial species.<ref name=Kence/> Research also showed similar results upon genetic and phylogenetic analyses. While most annual and perennial species tend to form monophyletic clades, ''C. incisum'' is an exception to this rule. Another species that occurs outside of the typical monophylies is ''C. cuneatum'', an annual species more closely related to the perennial species ''C. canariense'' than any other annual species.<ref name=Caputo>{{cite journal|last1=Caputo|first1=P|last2=Frediani|first2=M|title=Phylogenetic relationships among annual and perennial species of the genus ''Cicer'' as inferred from ITS sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA|journal=Biologia Plantarum|date=2005|volume=49|issue=1|pages=47–52|doi=10.1007/s10535-005-7052-1|bibcode=2005BioPl..49...47F|s2cid=26464651|hdl=2067/1309|hdl-access=free}}</ref> These outsteps in the common trend of the phylogenies indicate that there may be close relatives that present as candidates for further cultivation. There is significant evolutionary distance between the common ancestors of the modern perennial and annual species, but this research gives hope that there may be a possibility of cultivating a perennial species as a food crop.