Shedding new light on the origin and spread of the brinjal eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) and its wild relatives.

Rather than a linear 'Out Of Africa' sequence, our results are more consistent with an initial dispersal event into Asia, and subsequent wide dispersal and differentiation across Africa driven by large mammalian herbivores. Our evolutionary results will affect future work on eggplant domestication and affect the use of wild relatives in breeding of this increasingly important solanaceous crop.