Are olive cultivars distinguishable from oleaster trees based on morphology of drupes and pits, oil composition and microsatellite polymorphisms?

Abstract

The study aims to determine which traits may help to differentiate cultivars and oleaster trees based on drupe and pit morphological traits, oil content and composition and nuclear DNA markers at seven SSR loci. We determined for one cultivar (Gerboui) the steady drupe, pit morphological and oil composition variation ranges in six different contrasted agro-systems. We then investigated 33 cultivars and 40 oleaster trees. PCA analysis on morphological traits was examined. Gas chromatography was used to determine fatty acid composition of 20 cultivars and 13 oleaster trees, and the Soxhlet method was used to determine fruit oil content. SSR genotyping was performed in poly-acry- lamide gels. Five clusters based on UPGMA mixed olive cultivars and oleaster trees suggesting kinship relationships between some cultivars and some oleasters; and thus cultivars could derive from domestication of oleaster trees. © 2008, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.