Genetic Diversity of Common Olive (Olea europaea L.) Cultivars from Nikita Botanical Gardens Collection Revealed Using RAD-Seq Method

Abstract

In different countries, interest in the commercial cultivation of the olive has recently greatly increased, which has led to the expansion of its range. The Crimean Peninsula is the northern limit of the common olive (Olea europaea L.) range. A unique collection of common olive’s cultivars and hybrids has been collected in the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens (NBG). The aim of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of 151 samples (total of several biological replicates of 46 olive cultivars including 29 introduced and 11 indigenous genotypes) using the ddRAD sequencing method. Structural analysis showed that the studied samples are divided into ten groups, each of which mainly includes cultivars of the same origin. Cultivars introduced to the Crimean Peninsula from different regions formed separate groups, while local cultivars joined different groups depending on their origin. Cultivars of Crimean origin contain admixtures of mainly Italian and Caucasian cultivars’ genotypes. Our study showed that the significant number of Crimean cultivars contains an admixture of the Italian cultivar “Coreggiolo”. Genetic analysis confirmed the synonymy for the cv. “Otur” and “Nikitskaya 2”, but not for the other four putative synonyms. Our results revealed the genetic diversity of the olive collection of NBG and provided references for future research studies, especially in selection studies for breeding programs.