The researchers studied how a type of pumpkin called Cucurbita argyrosperma was domesticated by comparing its wild and cultivated forms in Mexico. They used genetic data to show that the domesticated pumpkins likely originated in Jalisco. They found that genes related to growth, defense, seed development, and germination were important in the domestication process. They also discovered that genes were shared between Cucurbita argyrosperma and a related species, suggesting they exchanged genetic material during domestication.