Olive Growing in a Time of Change: From Empiricism to Genomics

Abstract

This book provides an introduction to the genetics, genomics, and breeding of the olive tree, a multi-functional long-lived crop plant that is relevant not only for culinary olive and oil production, but also for shaping the landscape and history of many rural areas for centuries. Today, the recognized health benefits of extra-virgin olive oil provide new impulses for introducing innovation in olive crop management and olive breeding for a deeper understanding of the biological processes underlying fruit quality, adaptation to crop environment and response to threatening epidemics due to biological agents such as Xylella fastidiosa. The individual chapters discuss genetic resources; classic and modern breeding methods for providing new olive cultivars; the genotype x environment interactions determining the response to biotic and abiotic stresses; fruit metabolism related to oil production and the synthesis of health beneficial molecules; the mapping of genes and quantitative trait locus; and genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic strategies pertinent to the development of a molecular platform and template amenable to precise and rapid genetic modifications using recently developed genome editing tools. Preface; Contents; Abbreviations; 1 Origin and Domestication; Abstract; 1 Introduction; 2 Long Persistence and Diversification of Oleaster Populations in the Mediterranean Basin During the Pleistocene; 3 First Uses of the Oleaster During the Holocene and Early Evidence of Domestication in the Levant; 4 Secondary Diversification of the Crop Across the Mediterranean Basin Versus Multiple Independent Domestications; 5 New Opportunities for Crop Diversification Out of the Mediterranean Range; 6 Concluding Remarks; Acknowledgments; References; 2 Olive Biology; Abstract; 1 The Olive Tree. 1.1 Description and Habit1.2 Taxonomy; 2 Vegetative Morphology and Anatomy; 2.1 Trunk and Branches; 2.2 Leaves; 2.3 Roots; 3 Reproductive Structures and Development; 3.1 Inflorescence and Flower; 3.2 Fruit; 3.3 Seed and Embryo; References; 3 Olive Genetic Resources; Abstract; 1 Current Status of Olive Genetic Resources; 2 Cultivated Germplasm; 2.1 Features and Conservation of Cultivated Germplasm; 2.2 Characterization and Management of Cultivated Germplasm; 2.3 Molecular Tools as a Means of Genotyping of Olive Varieties; 2.4 Molecular Identification of Cultivars. 2.5 Genetic Diversity and Relationships Within the Cultivated Germplasm2.6 Phenotyping and Agronomical Performance of the Olive Varieties; 3 Wild Olives; 4 Ancient Olives; 5 Concluding Remarks on Olive Genetic Resources; References; 4 Olive Growing in a Time of Change: From Empiricism to Genomics; Abstract; 1 Introduction; 2 Olive Growing in the World: Production, Consumption, and Trade; 3 Plantations; 3.1 Traditional Orchards; 3.2 The Crisis of Traditional Orchards; 3.3 High Density Mechanically Harvested Orchards; 4 The Future of World Olive Oil Consumption: Improving Oil Quality. 4.1 The Health Concern4.2 The Global Market Challenge; 5 The Sustainability Challenge; 6 Propagation, Genetic Resources, and Breeding; 7 The Role of Genomics in the Future of the Olive Growing; 8 Conclusion; References; 5 Genetic Mapping and Detection of Quantitative Trait Loci; Abstract; 1 Current Status of Genetic Mapping in Fruit Tree Crops; 2 Genetic Mapping in Olive; 2.1 Mapping with Conventional Markers; 2.2 Mapping with High-Throughput Markers; 3 QTL Mapping; 4 Association Mapping Studies; 5 Concluding Remarks; References; 6 Host Response to Biotic Stresses; Abstract; 1 Introduction. 2 The Major Entomological Enemy: The Olive Fly2.1 Cultivar Susceptibility to Olive Fly; 2.2 Olive Fly Control: From Insecticides to SIT and Beyond; 3 Major Viral and Bacterial Enemies; 3.1 Olive-Infecting Viruses and Viral Diseases; 3.2 Xylella fastidiosa; 4 Some of the Major Olive Diseases Caused by Pathogenic Fungi; 5 The Interaction of Olive with Its Enemies; 5.1 The Molecular Responses of the Olive Fruit to Bactrocera oleae Infestation; 5.2 The Olive Responsive Transcriptome to a Vascular Soil-Borne Pathogen; 5.2.1 Verticillium dahliae.