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Chenopodium quinoa Willd., an ancient Andean pseudocereal almost exclusively consumed in South America, jumped onto the global stage when Western cultures noted quinoa's advantageous nutritional profile. Quinoa seed's high protein content, nutritionally balanced amino acid profile, low glycemic index, and high fiber, vitamin, and mineral content, make it a highly sought-after 'superfood'. Pitseed goosefoot (C. berlandieri Moq.), a closely related North American species sharing quinoa's genome composition (AABB), grows across the North American continent, inhabiting diverse environments including the saline coastal soils of the Gulf of Texas and the drought-prone regions of the Southwest. Quinoa and pitseed goosefoot, along with South American avian goosefoot (C. hircinum Schrad.), make up the Allotetraploid Goosefoot Complex (ATGC). We hypothesize that an ancient hybridization event between A- and B-genome diploids, with a subsequent whole-genome duplication, gave rise to the common ancestor of the ATGC. Prior data indicate that allopolyploidization most likely occurred within North America, with long-range dispersal of the ATGC to South America. We have sequenced the genome of the North American AA-genome diploid C. watsonii and identified via DNA marker analyses the closest extant species to the AA-genome diploid ancestor of the ATGC from among a panel of 41 AA-genome diploid resequenced accessions, encompassing 30 putative AA-genome diploid species, from North and South America. We also present evidence for reciprocal long-range dispersal of Chenopodium diploids between North and South America.

Genetic maps are useful tools in breeding programs and evolutionary studies. Since the publication of the first map, several concepts have been proposed and implemented in various mapping software. Each software presents different characteristics for the construction of maps. For example, aspects such as availability of source code, licenses, tutorials, and operating system need to be considered. There are also important points related to the statistical methods employed. In this context, the users\' choice can often be a complicated task. The objectives here were: i) to present the main software with free licenses developed in recent years; ii) construct linkage maps using these software and, iii) evaluate them from the point of view of users. The software considered were: OneMap, Lep-MAP, HighMap, Lep-MAP2, Flipper, Lep-MAP3, ASMap, and GUSMap. This work can guide researchers about the free tools available to construct genetic maps. / Mapas genéticos são ferramentas úteis em programas de melhoramento e em estudos evolutivos. Desde a publicação do primeiro mapa, vários conceitos foram propostos e implementados em vários softwares de mapeamento. Cada software apresenta diferentes características para construção de mapas. Por exemplo, aspectos como disponibilidade do código fonte, licenças, tutoriais e sistema operacional precisam ser considerados. Há ainda pontos importantes relacionados aos métodos estatísticos empregados. Assim sendo, nem sempre a escolha pelos usuários é uma tarefa simples. Os objetivos aqui foram: i) apresentar os principais softwares com licenças gratuitas desenvolvidos nos últimos anos; ii) construir mapas de ligação utilizando esses programas e iii) avaliá-los do ponto de vista dos usuários. Os softwares considerados foram: OneMap, Lep-MAP, HighMap, Lep-MAP2, Flipper, Lep-MAP3, ASMap e GUSMap. Este trabalho poderá orientar os pesquisadores quanto às ferramentas gratuitas disponíveis para construção de mapas genéticos.