Abstract
Knowledge on the crop domestication process is important from a cultural and agricultural standpoint since it can shed light on the origin and history of human civilizations as well as the management of genetic resources, while offering guidance for modern breeding. The olive tree (Olea europaeassp.europaea) is the most iconic of the old crop species of the Mediterranean Basin (MB). Primary domestication from wild olive probably occurred around 6000 BP in the Middle East. However, the question remains as to whether cultivated olive derived from a single domestication event in the Levant, followed by secondary diversification, or whether it was the result of independent domestication events. Here, we analyzed a comprehensive sample collected from 35 wild populations (722 individuals) and 410 cultivars from across the MB using nuclear and plastid DNA markers. Our genetic investigations argue in favor of a single primary domestication event in the eastern MB, followed by diffusion of the first domesticated olive and diversification in the central and western MB as key processes in the olive tree history.
Highlights
Understanding crop domestication and diversification processes is important to infer the origin of the crop and highlight the history of human civilizations. ese investigations can be useful for genetic resource management while offering guidance for modern breeding
Based on the analysis of 1,132 genotypes using 16 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, we identified a total of 427 alleles with an average of 26.69 alleles per locus. e number of alleles observed in wild olive (420) was higher than that in cultivated olive (276)
Instead of multiple primary domestication centers, we argue in favor of a single primary domestication in the Levant, followed by human-mediated diffusion of the first domesticated forms and admixtures with wild olives in the central and western Mediterranean Basin
Summary
Understanding crop domestication and diversification processes is important to infer the origin of the crop and highlight the history of human civilizations. ese investigations can be useful for genetic resource management while offering guidance for modern breeding. Understanding crop domestication and diversification processes is important to infer the origin of the crop and highlight the history of human civilizations. Europaea) is considered to be the most iconic tree in Mediterranean areas. Oliviculture is one of the oldest cropping practices developed in these areas, and olive trees have accompanied the emergence of early Mediterranean civilizations [1]. Archaeological, and genetic investigations, the olive tree may have persisted around the Mediterranean Basin (MB) as part of the natural plant community since the Late Tertiary [2]. Despite the economic, cultural, ecological, and historical importance of the species, its origin and history have yet to be clearly documented. Clarifying the olive domestication and diversification process has long been a focus of active scientific research [3]
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