Olive tree flowering genes mapped to help trees adapt to warming
Lamoumni O, Abou-Saaid O, Zaher H, El Yaacoubi A, Droc G
Crop Improvement
If you've ever noticed fruit trees blooming earlier each spring, this research shows breeders are now finding the exact genes behind that timing shift in olives, which could keep your olive oil supply and backyard olive trees resilient as seasons warm.
Olive trees decide when to flower based on both their genes and the weather, and that timing determines how much fruit they'll produce. Researchers scanned the DNA of 257 olive varieties grown across the Mediterranean and found specific genetic spots linked to different flowering stages, including some genes that control one stage only and others that influence the whole flowering process. They also discovered that the genes controlling how flexible a tree's timing is in response to weather are partly different from the genes controlling the timing itself, which gives breeders two separate tools to work with when designing climate-tough olive trees.
Key Findings
Analyzed 257 Mediterranean olive varieties using over 555,000 genetic variants to study flowering phenology stages
Identified both stage-specific genetic associations (affecting single flowering steps) and pleiotropic associations (affecting multiple stages at once)
Found that genetic markers linked to flowering plasticity (flexibility in response to environment) differ partly from markers linked to average flowering timing
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists mapped the genes controlling when olive trees flower, finding hundreds of DNA markers tied to bloom timing in 257 Mediterranean olive varieties. This genetic roadmap could help breeders create olive trees that stay productive as climate change shifts flowering patterns.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Genome-wide association of flowering phenology stages in olive trees (Olea europaea L.): new insights from BLUPs and genotype × environment responses.
Flowering is a key developmental stage determining reproductive success and yield in olive trees, integrating complex genetic regulation and environmental factors mainly temperatures. Given its env...
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The olive is a species of subtropical evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Originating in Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean Basin, with wild subspecies in Africa and western Asia; modern cultivars are traced primarily to the Near East, Aegean Sea, and Strait of Gibraltar. ...