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Corn was originally bred from the teosinte plant by native Mexican farmers. The morphologies of modern-day corn and teosinte plants are compared to illustrate how artificial selection can bring about dramatic changes in plants.

It took about 9,000 years and alterations in six genetic pathways to transform the inedible grass teosinte (left) into the corn we eat today (right). (Center: a first generation hybrid between teosinte and corn)

18 min video- Ten thousand years ago, corn didn't exist anywhere in the world, and until recently scientists argued vehemently about its origins. Today the crop is consumed voraciously by us, by our livestock, and as a major part of processed foods. So where did it come from? Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn tells the story of the genetic changes involved in the transformation of a wild grass called teosinte into corn.  Evidence from genetics supports archeological findings pinpointing corn's origins to a very particular time and place in Mexico