GENETIC DIVERSITY ANALYSIS OF TUNISIAN OLIVE CULTIVAR BY SNP MARKERS

Abstract

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the oldest agricultural-cultivated trees worldwide; it represents victory, strength, and hope. Indeed, the olive tree plays an important role in the culture and socio-economy of many Mediterranean countries including Tunisia. To study the genetic diversity of the 17 olive tree cultivars (Olea Europaea .L) sampled from different Mediterranean regions, we consider the analysis of three SNP markers (ACP-1, ANTHO3, SOD) located in three different genes. The genotypes of 17 cultivars were revealed using the genotyping analysis. The dendrogram based on cultivars genotypes generated by SNP markers revealed three clusters which were consistent with the varieties classification. In addition, we compared the results obtained with agro-morphological and chemicals data using bioinformatic analyses. This work offers a more relevant clarification of the genetic diversity of the olive cultivars existing in Tunisia.