Résumé
The understanding of sugarcane evolution and domestication is complex due to: (1) the existence of several morpho-geographical groups of ancient cultigens, whose genetic relationships long remain controversial, (2) the existence of many closely related wild species whose taxonomy has been reshaped several times, (3) an evolutionary history that took place over a huge geographical area, including regions with very different human history, ecology and degree of botanical knowledge, (4) a complex cytogenetics for key species, with aneuploidy and frequent high level of polyploidy, and (5) an important genetic erosion in the field and in germplasm collections. We present a synthesis of the important literature dedicated to this topic, while insisting particularly on the contribution of molecular data in the last decade. (Texte intégral)