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The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs

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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 27077

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Samanta Zelasco

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Guest Editor

CREA Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: plant biotechnology; biodiversity; plant physiology; plant biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Annalisa Marchese

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale Delle Scienze—Ed. 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: plant genetics; genomics; NGS technologies; diversity study; molecular breeding; conservation; self-incompatibility; architectural traits; biotic and abiotic stress resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Tiziano Caruso

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze—Ed. 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: fruit trees; phenotypic and molecular characterization; conservation of genetic resources; tree physiology; fruit quality; breeding

Dr. Enrico Maria Lodolini

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Guest Editor

Department, School, City zipcode, Country: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics- Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, 00134 Rome, Italy
Interests: plant physiology; ecophysiology; tree horticulture; architecture and canopy management; cultural intensification; irrigation; composting; olive; olive oil; sustainable soil management; agroecology; rootstock; tree physiology; agriculture; roots; soil fertility

Prof. Claudio Di Vaio

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Department of Agricultural, University of Naples, Via Università 100, Naples, Italy
Interests: fruit trees; phenotypic and molecular characterization; conservation of genetic resources; tree physiology; fruit quality

Dr. Cristian Silvestri

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo De Lellis, s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Interests: fruit trees; biotic and abiotic stress tolerance; phenotypic and molecular characterization; biodiversity and conservation; fruit quality; tree physiology; conventional and unconventional breeding; micropropagation and plant tissue culture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Elena Santilli

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Guest Editor

Department, School, City zipcode, Country: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics- Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, 87036 Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Interests: olive tree; plant disease; ITS region; 16 S rDNA region; molecular identification fungal and bacterial pathogens; Pseudomonas savastanoi; real-time PCR; Colletotrichum spp.; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; resistance to biotic and abiotic stress phenotypic characterization; Olea europaea L., breeding; plant growth

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The olive tree is a representative species of the Mediterranean basin, with its origin now scientifically ascertained, while the domestication process is still open. Knowing the origin and spread of a species is important for acquiring information on its evolutionary process and understanding its genetic variability, a fundamental prerequisite for launching biodiversity conservation and genetic improvement programs. From a genetic point of view, these aspects can be addressed both through the study of polymorphisms at the single gene level and at the whole genome level. The sequencing of olive genomes is opening the doors to knowledge of the structure of olive tree DNA, the intensive development of markers that allow a deeper scanning of its genetic diversity, and a better understanding of the biology of the species. Plastid markers are then associated with nuclear ones to better define the processes of genetic differentiation. Furthermore, knowledge of the genomic sequence and its orientation is increasingly fundamental for the development of molecular tools to support breeding programs, such as classical mapping and association studies. Therefore, to ensure valid results with these latest techniques, it becomes essential to phenotype the germplasm and study the genotype-by-environment interaction through morphophenological characterization and physiological response to biotic and abiotic stress.
The last frontier in olive trees is cis-genesis and genome editing, which could allow a faster and more effective evolution of genetic improvement in olive trees through an improvement of vitro culture and regeneration protocols.
Therefore, in this Special Issue, articles on genetic diversity, phylogenesis, population structure, polymorphisms analysis, QTL analysis, association mapping, phenotyping studies, and biotechnological tool development carried out with diversified, conventional, and advanced approaches and techniques, able to provide a concrete contribution for the advancement of olive tree breeding, are welcome.

Dr. Samanta Zelasco
Dr. Annalisa Marchese
Prof. Dr. Tiziano Caruso
Dr. Enrico Maria Lodolini
Prof. Claudio Di Vaio
Dr. Cristian Silvestri
Dr. Elena Santilli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Olea europaea
genetic diversity
genotyping and phenotyping
plant biotechnology
sequencing
mapping
markers
classical and molecular breeding

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 994 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Minor Variety of Campania Olive Germplasm (“Racioppella”): Effects of Kaolin on Production and Bioactive Components of Drupes and Oil

by Aurora Cirillo, Giulia Graziani, Lucia De Luca, Marco Cepparulo, Alberto Ritieni, Raffaele Romano and Claudio Di Vaio

Plants 2023, 12(6), 1259; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants12061259 - 10 Mar 2023

Viewed by 1655

Abstract

The effects of climate change have a great impact on the Mediterranean regions which are experiencing an increase in drought periods with extreme temperatures. Among the various solutions reported to reduce the damage caused by extreme environmental conditions on olive plants, the application of anti-transpirant products is widespread. In an increasingly current scenario of climate change, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of kaolin on the quantitative and qualitative parameters of drupes and oil in a little-known olive cultivar known as “Racioppella”, belonging to the autochthonous germplasm of Campania (Southern Italy). To this purpose, the determination of maturation index, olive yield/plant, and bioactive components analysis (anthocyanins, carotenoids, total polyphenols, antioxidant activity, and fatty acids) were carried out. Kaolin applications showed no statistically significant differences in terms of production/plant while a significant increase in the drupe oil content was observed. Kaolin treatments resulted in increased anthocyanins (+24%) and total polyphenols (+60%) content and at the same time a significant increase in the antioxidant activity (+41%) of drupes was recorded. As far as oil is concerned, the results showed an increase in monounsaturated fatty acids, oleic and linoleic acids, and total polyphenols (+11%). On the basis of the results obtained, we can conclude that kaolin treatment can be considered as a sustainable solution to improve qualitative parameters in olive drupes and oil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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12 pages, 4221 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Neem Oil to Reduce Zeatin Use and Optimize the Rooting Phase in Olea europaea L. Micropropagation

by Luca Regni, Simona Lucia Facchin, Daniel Fernandes da Silva, Michele De Cesaris, Franco Famiani, Primo Proietti and Maurizio Micheli

Plants 2023, 12(3), 576; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants12030576 - 28 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1870

Abstract

Micropropagation is an in vitro propagation technique, established in the nursery field sector for numerous species, which offers several advantages compared to traditional agamic propagation techniques. In the case of the olive tree, however, despite the advances made through research, it is still little used, due to the recalcitrance to in vitro proliferation and/or rooting of many olive cultivars and the high cost of zeatin, the only cytokinin that makes it possible to achieve a satisfactory proliferation rate in this species. In this context, numerous attempts have been made to identify alternative cytokinin compounds able to improve the proliferation rate of olive tree explants and thus reduce the unitary production cost. In particular, there is a growing interest in the use of natural substances (called in some cases “complex mixtures”), which, when added to the in vitro cultivation substrates, seem to be able to improve proliferation rates. In the present study, neem oil was added to the propagation substrates (partially/totally replacing zeatin) and in the rooting phase for the olive cultivar Moraiolo. In particular, in the proliferation phase, the effect of neem oil (0.1 mL L⁻¹) in substrates containing different zeatin concentrations (0, 1, 2, and 4 mg L⁻¹) was evaluated. For the rooting phase, agarized substrate and soil were used with shoots derived from a standard proliferation substrate (4 mg L⁻¹ zeatin) and from the substrate that gave the best results in the proliferation phase (2 mg L⁻¹ zeatin and 0.1 mL L⁻¹ neem oil). In the proliferation phase, the addition of neem oil in the substrates with low zeatin concentration (1 and 2 mg L⁻¹) induced an increase in the number of adventitious shoots and shoots length. On the contrary, the addition of neem oil in the rooting substrates did not positively influence the rooting phase, but positive results especially in terms of root number and length were observed in explants derived from a neem oil-enriched proliferation substrate compared to the control substrate. Therefore, the present study demonstrated for the first time the positive role of neem oil in the proliferation of olive in vitro with low zeatin concentrations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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13 pages, 3420 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Olive Bud Dormancy Release Dynamics and Validation of Using Cuttings to Determine Chilling Requirement

by Guillermo Rubio-Valdés, Diego Cabello, Hava F. Rapoport and Luis Rallo

Plants 2022, 11(24), 3461; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11243461 - 10 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1501

Abstract

Dormancy release dynamics in olive tree (Olea europaea L.) reproductive buds as affected by cold accumulation, tree bearing status, and budburst temperature was studied under natural and controlled conditions, using both cuttings and container- and field-grown plants. The chilling necessary for dormancy release was acquired at different times within the bud population, presenting a progressive pattern of reproductive budburst. Once sufficient chilling is accumulated, 20 °C is a suitable temperature for reproductive budburst, although higher temperature, e.g., 30 °C, during dormancy release can inhibit budburst. While the bearing status of trees determined the amount of return bloom, dormancy release followed a similar pattern for previously bearing and non-bearing trees. Concurrent with investigating budburst factors, the use of shoot cuttings was tested as a method for olive dormancy release studies by contrasting with results from whole trees. It was found it to be valid for studying reproductive budburst, thus providing a useful method to screen chilling requirements in cultivar evaluation and the breeding programs currently ongoing in this species. However, the method was not valid for vegetative budburst, with varying results between cuttings and the whole plant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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15 pages, 2957 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Differentiation of Fatty Acid Desaturase Genes in Olea europaea L.

by Erli Niu, Song Gao, Wenjun Hu, Chengcheng Zhang, Daqun Liu, Guoxin Shen and Shenlong Zhu

Plants 2022, 11(11), 1415; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11111415 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1343

Abstract

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a world-famous woody oil tree and popular for redundant unsaturated fatty acids. Fatty acid desaturase (FAD) genes are responsible for fatty acid desaturation and stress regulation but have not yet been identified in olive at the whole genome level. This study identified 40 and 27 FAD genes in the cultivated olive O. europaea cv. Farga and the wild olive O. europaea var. Sylvestris, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all the FAD genes could be classified into the soluble FAB2/SAD clade and membrane-bound clade, including ADS/FAD5, DES, FAD4, SLD, ω-6 and ω-3, with the high consistency of subcellular localization, motif composition and exon-intron organization in each group. FAD genes in olive showed the diverse functional differentiation in morphology of different tissues, fruit development and stress responses. Among them, OeFAB2.8 and OeFAD2.3 were up-regulated and OeADS.1, OeFAD4.1 and OeFAD8.2 were down-regulated under the wound, Verticillium dahliae and cold stresses. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the FAD genes at the whole-genome level in olives and will provide guidance for the improvement of oil quality or stress tolerance of olive trees. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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10 pages, 1199 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Ethylene Inhibitors Enhance the Success of Olive Somatic Embryogenesis?

by Muhammad Ajmal Bashir, Cristian Silvestri, Amelia Salimonti, Eddo Rugini, Valerio Cristofori and Samanta Zelasco

Plants 2022, 11(2), 168; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11020168 - 09 Jan 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1942

Abstract

An efficient in vitro morphogenesis, specifically through somatic embryogenesis, is considered to be a crucial step for the application of modern biotechnological tools for genetic improvement in olive (Olea europaea L.). The effects of different ethylene inhibitors, i.e., cobalt chloride (CoCl₂), salicylic acid (SA), and silver nitrate (AgNO₃), were reported in the cyclic somatic embryogenesis of olive. Embryogenic callus derived from the olive immature zygotic embryos of the cultivar Leccino, was transferred to the expression ECO medium, supplemented with the ethylene inhibitors at 20 and 40 µM concentrations. Among these, the maximum number of somatic embryos (18.6) was obtained in media containing silver nitrate (40 µM), followed by cobalt chloride (12.2 somatic embryos @ 40 µM) and salicylic acid (40 µM), which produced 8.5 somatic embryos. These compounds interfered on callus traits: white friable embryogenic calli were formed in a medium supplemented with 40 µM cobalt chloride and salicylic acid; in addition, a yellow-compact embryogenic callus appeared at 20 µM of all the tested ethylene inhibitors. The resulting stimulatory action of silver nitrate among all the tested ethylene inhibitors on somatic embryogenesis, clearly demonstrates that our approach can efficiently contribute to the improvement of the current SE protocols for olive. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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13 pages, 1309 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Assessment of Maternal Effects and Genetic Variability in Resistance to Verticillium dahliae in Olive Progenies

by Pedro Valverde Caballero, Carlos Trapero Ramírez, Diego Barranco Navero, Francisco J. López-Escudero, Ana Gordon Bermúdez-Coronel and Concepción Muñoz Díez

Plants 2021, 10(8), 1534; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10081534 - 27 Jul 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2471

Abstract

The use of genetic resistance is likely the most efficient, economically convenient and environmentally friendly control method for plant diseases, as well as a fundamental piece in an integrated management strategy. This is particularly important for woody crops affected by diseases in which mainly horizontal resistance mechanisms are operative, such as Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae. In this study, we analyzed the variability in resistance to Verticillium wilt of olive trees in progenies from five crosses: ‘Picual’ × ‘Frantoio’, ‘Arbosana’ × ‘Koroneiki’, ‘Sikitita’ × ‘Arbosana’, ‘Arbosana’ × ‘Frantoio’ and ‘Arbosana’ × ‘Arbequina’ and their respective reciprocal crosses. Additionally, seedlings of ‘Picual’ and ‘Frantoio’ in open pollination were used as controls. In October 2016 and 2018, the fruits were harvested, and seeds germinated. Six-week-old seedlings were inoculated by dipping their bare roots in a conidial suspension of V. dahliae, and disease progress in terms of symptom severity and mortality was evaluated weekly. Additionally, seedling growth was evaluated every two weeks. At the end of the experiment, no significant differences were found for any of the assessed parameters when reciprocal crosses were compared. These results suggest that there is no maternal or paternal effect in regard to the heritability of resistance. In addition, this study identifies the best crosses for obtaining the highest number of resistant genotypes, highlighting the importance of the selection of specific cultivars to optimize the breeding process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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13 pages, 294 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drupe Characters, Fatty Acids, Polyphenolic and Aromatic Profile of Olive Oil Obtained from “Oliva Bianca”, Minor Autochthonous Cultivar of Campania

by Claudio Di Vaio, Giulia Graziani, Anna Gaspari, Lucia De Luca, Alessandra Aiello, Aurora Cirillo, Antonio Bruno, Raffaele Romano and Alberto Ritieni

Plants 2021, 10(6), 1119; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10061119 - 31 May 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2548

Abstract

Campania, due to its pedo-climatic conditions and to its large varietal heritage, is able to produce oils with high typicity, each different from the other. In this study a “minor” autochthonous cultivar of Campania “Oliva Bianca” was analyzed. In autumn 2020, on drupes from trees belonging to the Campania germplasm collection a varietal characterization through physical, chemical and chromatic parameters at the harvest was carried out. Phenolic compounds profile, fatty acids composition and volatile organic compounds have been investigated in the resulting oil. Quality indices, organoleptic and sensory qualities (panel test) were also determined on the oil. Drupe weight was 4.31 g, flesh/pit ratio was 3.68 and the accumulation of oil content at harvest in drupes was 18.63% FW. The drupes showed high anthocyanins content equal to 116.10 mg/kg. In the oil studied, the secoiridoids represented the 82.25% of total phenolic compounds, the concentration of oleic acid was 74.82% and the most present volatile compound was trans-2-hexenal (72.30%). High secoiridoid derivatives concentrations such as oleuropein (85.93 mg/kg) and ligstroside (122.43 mg/kg) aglycones were showed. This study showed a good content of qualitative and quantitative parameters of “Oliva Bianca” oil and drupe, that can have important beneficial effects on human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

15 pages, 2696 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Peroxidase Enzyme Fractions as Markers of Somatic Embryogenesis Capacities in Olive (Olea europaea L.)

by Sara Oulbi, Kaoutar Kohaich, Mohammed Baaziz, Ilham Belkoura and Kenza Loutfi

Plants 2021, 10(5), 901; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10050901 - 29 Apr 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2053

Abstract

As part of the search for biochemical markers of somatic embryogenesis in tissue cultures of olive (Olea europaea L.), peroxidases (POXs) in both the soluble and ionically wall-bound fractions were studied in two reputed olive cultivars (cvs.): “Picholine Marocaine” and “Dahbia”. In order to carry out embryogenesis induction, proximal cotyledons were cultured in modified olive medium (OMc) supplemented with 25 μM indole-3-butylic acid (IBA) and 2.5 μM 2-isopentenyladenine (2iP), while distal leaf fragments (somatic explants) were cultured in OMc supplemented with 4.56 µM zeatin riboside (ZR) and 10.25 µM 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Regarding embryogenic potentials, the zygotic explants (cv. Picholine Marocaine: 43.39%; cv. Dahbia: 53.41%) were more regenerative than the somatic explants (cv. Picholine Marocaine: 13.05%; cv. Dahbia: 19.51%). The enzyme assay showed a higher POX activity in embryogenic calluses (ECs) than in nonembryogenic calluses (NECs) for the zygotic explants in both studied cultivars. When expressed as units per milligram of proteins (U mg⁻¹ proteins), the highest total POXs activities (soluble POXs + ionically wall-bound POXs) were found in the ECs derived from the zygotic explants; for cv. Dahbia, 65% of the enzyme activities came from the ionically wall-bound fractions. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the ECs of the highly active cv. Dahbia were characterized by highly active isoperoxidases that were revealed in four migration zones, particularly a doublet in the A4 zone (R_f 0.70–0.73) present in the ionically wall-bound POXs. The fast-moving anodic POXs of the ionically wall-bound fractions could be adopted as an early electrophoretic test to determine the embryogenesis capacities in olive tissue culture materials. As biochemical markers, the POX enzyme and its profile in fractions, i.e., as soluble POXs and ionically wall-bound POXs, can offer a valuable tool for improving the tissue culture of olive via somatic embryogenesis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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19 pages, 9059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Algerian Olive Germplasm and Its Relationships with the Central-Western Mediterranean Varieties Contributes to Clarify Cultivated Olive Diversification

by Kamel Atrouz, Ratiba Bousba, Francesco Paolo Marra, Annalisa Marchese, Francesca Luisa Conforti, Benedetta Perrone, Hamza Harkat, Amelia Salimonti and Samanta Zelasco

Plants 2021, 10(4), 678; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10040678 - 01 Apr 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2858

Abstract

Olive tree with its main final product, olive oil, is an important element of Mediterranean history, considered the emblematic fruit of a civilization. Despite its wide diffusion and economic and cultural importance, its evolutionary and phylogenetic history is still difficult to clarify. As part of the Mediterranean basin, Algeria was indicated as a secondary diversification center. However, genetic characterization studies from Maghreb area, are currently underrepresented. In this context, we characterized 119 endemic Algerian accessions by using 12 microsatellite markers with the main goal to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure. In order to provide new insights about the history of olive diversification events in the Central-Western Mediterranean basin, we included and analyzed a sample of 103 Italian accessions from Sicily and, a set of molecular profiles of cultivars from the Central-Western Mediterranean area. The phylogenetic investigation let us to evaluate genetic relationships among Central-Mediterranean basin olive germplasm, highlight new synonymy cases to support the importance of vegetative propagation in the cultivated olive diffusion and consolidate the hypothesis of more recent admixture events occurrence. This work provided new information about Algerian germplasm biodiversity and contributed to clarify olive diversification process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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19 pages, 3036 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Response of Olive Shoots to Salinity Stress Suggests the Involvement of Sulfur Metabolism

by Muhammad Ajmal Bashir, Cristian Silvestri, Eleonora Coppa, Elena Brunori, Valerio Cristofori, Eddo Rugini, Touqeer Ahmad, Ishfaq Ahmad Hafiz, Nadeem Akhtar Abbasi, Muhammad Kausar Nawaz Shah and Stefania Astolfi

Plants 2021, 10(2), 350; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10020350 - 12 Feb 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3015

Abstract

Global warming has two dangerous global consequences for agriculture: drought, due to water scarcity, and salinization, due to the prolonged use of water containing high concentrations of salts. Since the global climate is projected to continue to change over this century and beyond, choosing salt-tolerant plants could represent a potential paramount last resort for exploiting the secondary saline soils. Olive is considered moderately resistant to soil salinity as compared to other fruit trees, and in the present study, we investigated the influence of NaCl solutions (ranging from 0 to 200 mM) in a salt-tolerant (cv Canino) and two of its transgenic lines (Canino AT17-1 and Canino AT17-2), overexpressing tobacco osmotin gene, and in a salt-sensitive (Sirole) olive cultivar. After four weeks, most of the shoots of both Canino and Sirole plants showed stunted growth and ultimate leaf drop by exposure to salt-enriched media, contrary to transgenic lines, that did not show injuries and exhibited a normal growth rate. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content was also measured as an indicator of the lipid peroxidation level. To evaluate the role of the S assimilatory pathway in alleviating the adverse effects of salt stress, thiols levels as well as extractable activities of ATP sulfurylase (ATPS) and O-acetyl serine(thiol)lyase (OASTL), the first and the last enzyme of the S assimilation pathway, respectively, have been estimated. The results have clearly depicted that both transgenic lines overexpressing osmotin gene coped with increasing levels of NaCl by the induction of S metabolism, and particularly increase in OASTL activity closely paralleled changes of NaCl concentration. Linear correlation between salt stress and OASTL activity provides evidence that the S assimilation pathway plays a key role in adaptive response of olive plants under salt stress conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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Review

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24 pages, 2629 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Cold Stress, Freezing Adaptation, Varietal Susceptibility of Olea europaea L.: A Review

by Raffaella Petruccelli, Giorgio Bartolini, Tommaso Ganino, Samanta Zelasco, Luca Lombardo, Enzo Perri, Mauro Durante and Rodolfo Bernardi

Plants 2022, 11(10), 1367; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11101367 - 20 May 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4142

Abstract

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is an evergreen xerophytic tree characterizing vegetative landscape and historical-cultural identity of the Mediterranean Basin. More than 2600 cultivars constitute the rich genetic patrimony of the species cultivated in approximately 60 countries. As a subtropical species, the olive tree is quite sensitive to low temperatures, and air temperature is the most critical environmental factor limiting olive tree growth and production. In this present review, we explored the detrimental effects caused of low temperatures on olive cultivars, and analyzed the most frequently experimental procedures used to evaluate cold stress. Then, current findings freezing stress physiology and gene are summarized in olive tree, with an emphasis on adaptive mechanisms for cold tolerance. This review might clear the way for new research on adaptive mechanisms for cold acclimation and for improvement of olive growing management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Genetic Diversity, Biotechnological Tools, and Phenotypic Trait Variation of Olea europaea L.: Studies to Support Breeding Programs)

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