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. 2019 Aug 28;8(3):62.
doi: 10.3390/biology8030062.

Uncovering Olive Biodiversity through Analysis of Floral and Fruiting Biology and Assessment of Genetic Diversity of 120 Italian Cultivars with Minor or Marginal Diffusion

Luca Lombardo  1   2 , Gianni Fila  3 , Nicola Lombardo  4 , Chiara Epifani  5 , Donald H Duffy III  6   7 , Gianluca Godino  4 , Amelia Salimonti  4 , Samanta Zelasco  4
Affiliations

Uncovering Olive Biodiversity through Analysis of Floral and Fruiting Biology and Assessment of Genetic Diversity of 120 Italian Cultivars with Minor or Marginal Diffusion

Luca Lombardo et al. Biology (Basel). .

Abstract

The primary impetus behind this research was to provide a boost to the characterization of the Italian olive biodiversity by acquiring reliable and homogeneous data over the course of an eight-year trial on the floral and fruiting biology of 120 molecularly analyzed cultivars, most of which have either low or very low diffusion. The obtained data highlighted a considerable variability to almost all of the analyzed parameters, which given the uniformity of environment and crop management was indicative of a large genetic variability in the accessions under observation, as confirmed through the molecular analysis. Several cases of synonymy were reported for the first time, even among plants cultivated in different regions, whilst all of the varieties examined, with only one exception, showed very low percentages of self-fruit-set, indicating a need for the employment of suitable pollinator plants. Eventually, a fitted model allowed us to evaluate the clear effects of the thermal values on blossoming, particularly in the months of March and April, whereas the climatic conditions during the flowering time had only a modest effect on its duration.

Keywords: Olea europaea L.; SSR; flowering; fruiting biology; modelling.

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Conflict of interest statement

“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographical coordinates of the olive germplasm collection field.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Climatic conditions during the eight-year trial.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phenogram illustration of flowering timing and duration over the eight years, with the indication of the limits calculated for early, medium, and late varieties.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of cultivars according to the heat requirement to flower, expressed as growing degree days (Tbase = 2.25 °C) cumulated after January 1 up until full flowering.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Dendrogram of relationships among the 120 olive varieties.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Population structure analysis showing the two differentiated groups (Red and Green) and the list of red, green, and admixed cultivars.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Hierarchical clustering of the principal phenological characters investigated in this work. Columns are clustered using correlation similarity and average linkage (UPGMA). GR -dominance of Green over Red- and RG -dominance of Red over Green-: admixed accessions.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Correlation matrix based on Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient (r) between paired variables, across the eight-year trial. Asterisks denote statistical significance at 95% (*) and 99% (**) confidence levels.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Principal component analysis of the normally distributed physiological parameters obtained from the molecularly revealed cases of synonymy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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