{"id":222996,"date":"2025-09-13T07:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T07:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/222996\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T07:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T07:32:09","slug":"researchers-complete-mapping-of-frantoio-leccino-genomes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/222996\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers Complete Mapping of Frantoio, Leccino Genomes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary \"Summary\"\/<\/strong><\/p>\n

An inter\u00adna\u00adtional team of researchers has mapped the com\u00adplete genome of the Leccino and Frantoio olive tree vari\u00adeties, pro\u00advid\u00ading valu\u00adable infor\u00adma\u00adtion for under\u00adstand\u00ading olive tree genet\u00adics and devel\u00adop\u00ading more resilient trees in the face of cli\u00admate change. By com\u00adpar\u00ading the genomes of these two cul\u00adti\u00advars, researchers aim to iden\u00adtify genes related to stress responses and poten\u00adtially use gene edit\u00ading tech\u00adniques to enhance traits such as salt tol\u00ader\u00adance. This genomic research could rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adize olive tree farm\u00ading, lead\u00ading to more pro\u00adduc\u00adtive and inno\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive solu\u00adtions for grow\u00aders fac\u00ading chal\u00adlenges in the Mediterranean cli\u00admate.<\/p>\n

An inter\u00adna\u00adtional team of researchers has mapped the com\u00adplete genome of the Leccino and Frantoio olive tree vari\u00adeties. <\/p>\n

The genomic map\u00adping of the two native Italian cul\u00adti\u00advars, now grown in dozens of coun\u00adtries, will enable researchers to com\u00adpare them and pave the way for a\u00a0deeper under\u00adstand\u00ading of olive tree genet\u00adics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn times of cli\u00admate change<\/a>, know\u00ading more about olive trees\u2019 genomics means know\u00ading more about how those trees react to major and some\u00adtimes new envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal stres\u00adsors,\u201d said Luca Sebastiani.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sequencing allows us to have a\u00a0vocab\u00adu\u00adlary with which to under\u00adstand why these two cul\u00adti\u00advars are dif\u00adfer\u00adent.- Luca Sebastiani,\u00a0hor\u00adti\u00adcul\u00adtural sci\u00adences pro\u00adfes\u00adsor, Scuola Superiore Sant\u2019Anna di Pisa<\/p>\n

The study\u2019s coor\u00addi\u00adna\u00adtor, who is also a\u00a0full pro\u00adfes\u00adsor of hor\u00adti\u00adcul\u00adtural sci\u00adences at the Scuola Superiore Sant\u2019Anna di Pisa, told Olive Oil Times that genomics could yield more resilient olive groves in the Mediterranean basin.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo adapt to cli\u00admate change, we need resis\u00adtant geno\u00adtypes<\/a>, as well as suit\u00adable agro\u00adnomic tech\u00adniques,\u201d Sebastiani said. \u200b\u201cIf water is lack\u00ading, there will be a\u00a0need for irri\u00adga\u00adtion, but also cul\u00adti\u00advars that use water effi\u00adciently. There are also chal\u00adlenges related to higher tem\u00adper\u00ada\u00adtures<\/a>, new pathogen sen\u00adsi\u00adtiv\u00adity and insect attacks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGene map\u00adping is one of the tools that can allow us to find solu\u00adtions more quickly,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

While olive tree gene edit\u00ading is still in its infancy, com\u00adpar\u00ading the genomes of the two cul\u00adti\u00advars could yield more resilient trees more quickly than tra\u00addi\u00adtional breed\u00ading pro\u00adgrams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Genetics vs genomics\"\"<\/p>\n

Genetics is the study of indi\u00advid\u00adual genes, how they influ\u00adence traits and inher\u00adi\u00adtance. Genomics is the study of all genes in the genome and their inter\u00adac\u00adtions with each other and the envi\u00adron\u00adment.<\/p>\n

Both Frantoio and Leccino are well doc\u00adu\u00admented in the sci\u00aden\u00adtific lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, as is their behav\u00adior when cop\u00ading with envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir responses to stress, both drought and espe\u00adcially salin\u00adity, are very inter\u00adest\u00ading mod\u00adels, because Frantoio is tol\u00ader\u00adant, while Leccino is less so,\u201d Sebastiani said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been work\u00ading for years to explain the mech\u00ada\u00adnism behind this dif\u00adfer\u00adence, but with\u00adout genomic data, it was always dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to fully under\u00adstand which genes might be involved,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

See Also:Olives with Higher Phenol Content More Resistant to Anthracnose<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSequencing allows us to have a\u00a0vocab\u00adu\u00adlary with which to under\u00adstand why these two cul\u00adti\u00advars are dif\u00adfer\u00adent,\u201d Sebastiani noted.<\/p>\n

According to the researchers, the com\u00admon prac\u00adtice of select\u00ading olive vari\u00adeties through tra\u00addi\u00adtional breed\u00ading is time-con\u00adsum\u00ading and does not always yield the best results.<\/p>\n

In their paper<\/a>, researchers noted that mixed results occur since \u200b\u201cpre\u00adcise mol\u00ade\u00adc\u00adu\u00adlar infor\u00adma\u00adtion on gene loca\u00adtion and struc\u00adture is largely miss\u00ading.\u201d It took the sci\u00aden\u00adtists more than two years to com\u00adplete the map\u00adping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made it thanks to the funds from Italy\u2019s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and thanks to the fact that we are a\u00a0fairly large group,\u201d Sebastiani said, which also included col\u00adleagues from the University of Arizona and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

A high per\u00adcent\u00adage of Long Terminal Repeats was found in both cul\u00adti\u00advars, indi\u00adcat\u00ading a\u00a0sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant sim\u00adi\u00adlar\u00adity in their genome.<\/p>\n

Repeated DNA sequences are not ran\u00addom, as they are shaped by evo\u00adlu\u00adtion and may play impor\u00adtant roles, such as help\u00ading main\u00adtain the sta\u00adbil\u00adity and integrity of the genome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not know very well yet how the dif\u00adfer\u00adent parts of the genome inter\u00adact,\u201d Sebastiani said. \u200b\u201cNow that we have this infor\u00adma\u00adtion in dif\u00adfer\u00adent cul\u00adti\u00advars, we can begin to see those dif\u00adfer\u00adences, and this could help us under\u00adstand the species bet\u00adter in the com\u00ading years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He com\u00adpared the chal\u00adlenge the researchers faced in map\u00adping the genomes of the two cul\u00adti\u00advars to com\u00adplet\u00ading a\u00a0jig\u00adsaw puz\u00adzle, where half of the pieces are of a\u00a0clear blue sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn such a\u00a0case, con\u00adnect\u00ading the puz\u00adzle pieces is way more com\u00adpli\u00adcated com\u00adpared to one that presents a\u00a0lot of vari\u00ada\u00adtions,\u201d he said. \u200b\u201cThis is a\u00a0prob\u00adlem in olives, because we have many highly repet\u00adi\u00adtive regions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Locating the posi\u00adtion of genes within a\u00a0genome is fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal to trans\u00adform\u00ading raw DNA sequences into prac\u00adti\u00adcal knowl\u00adedge, and it helps researchers link a\u00a0gene to a\u00a0spe\u00adcific trait, such as yield,\u00a0oil com\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion,<\/a> or resis\u00adtance to pests and dis\u00adeases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This knowl\u00adedge accel\u00ader\u00adates breed\u00ading pro\u00adgrams, replac\u00ading slow, ran\u00addom selec\u00adtion with tar\u00adgeted approaches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gene posi\u00adtion also reveals how they are reg\u00adu\u00adlated and inter\u00adact, offer\u00ading insights into adap\u00adta\u00adtion and domes\u00adti\u00adca\u00adtion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In olives, accu\u00adrate maps enable sci\u00aden\u00adtists to com\u00adpare cul\u00adti\u00advars, trace evo\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adary changes, and design pre\u00adci\u00adsion tools such as marker-assisted breed\u00ading or gene edit\u00ading to develop more resilient and high-qual\u00adity vari\u00adeties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis high-qual\u00adity map\u00adping can only be done when you have tech\u00adniques that sequence very large frag\u00adments, which makes it eas\u00adier,\u201d Sebastiani said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, there has been a\u00a0huge evo\u00adlu\u00adtion in tech\u00adniques,\u201d he added. \u200b\u201cToday we have PacBio, which allows the sequenc\u00ading of longer DNA frag\u00adments, some\u00adthing that was not pos\u00adsi\u00adble before.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0state of stress, such as that induced by\u00a0soil salin\u00adity<\/a>\u00a0or drought, only a\u00a0hand\u00adful of genes may be involved, with dif\u00adfer\u00adences observed between the two cul\u00adti\u00advars.<\/p>\n

\u201cA small dif\u00adfer\u00adence in gene struc\u00adture, or even in the pro\u00admoter region that reg\u00adu\u00adlates how much the gene func\u00adtions, may cause a\u00a0gene not to work at all, or to be less active, or to be more active,\u201d Sebastiani said.<\/p>\n

He added that iden\u00adti\u00adfy\u00ading and under\u00adstand\u00ading the dif\u00adfer\u00adences is cru\u00adcial.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u00a0under\u00adstand that a\u00a0gene involved in a\u00a0cer\u00adtain type of stress has one struc\u00adture in Frantoio and another in Leccino, and it works bet\u00adter in Frantoio and worse in Leccino, I\u00a0can then also use gene expres\u00adsion analy\u00adsis tech\u00adniques, with RNA sequenc\u00ading or other tech\u00adnolo\u00adgies, to see if that struc\u00adtural vari\u00ada\u00adtion affects activ\u00adity,\u201d Sebastiani said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u00a0dis\u00adcover that it does, we also now have genetic edit\u00ading,\u201d he added. \u200b\u201cIn olives, it\u2019s not yet very effec\u00adtive, but I\u00a0could rewrite the Leccino gene to mimic the form of the Frantoio gene, trans\u00adfer\u00adring that infor\u00adma\u00adtion so it works dif\u00adfer\u00adently.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Sebastiani explained that research into edit\u00ading olive tree genes is still in its early stages of exper\u00adi\u00admen\u00adta\u00adtion com\u00adpared to other species.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI also work on poplar [the genus of 35 species of wil\u00adlow trees] with my group,\u201d Sebastiani said. \u200b\u201cIn poplar, we can already do it. In olive trees, the prob\u00adlem is still trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adties with these edit\u00ading tech\u00adniques; it might take years.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there have been rapid advances in gene edit\u00ading tech\u00adnol\u00adogy, Sebastiani acknowl\u00adedged that it was impos\u00adsi\u00adble to esti\u00admate how long this might take.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, he expects the quick devel\u00adop\u00adment of genomics and related tech\u00adnolo\u00adgies might have an impact in a\u00a0rel\u00ada\u00adtively short time com\u00adpared to pre\u00advi\u00adous approaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, even using tra\u00addi\u00adtional tech\u00adniques but assisted by mol\u00ade\u00adc\u00adu\u00adlar biol\u00adogy, if I\u00a0cross Leccino and Frantoio to trans\u00adfer salt tol\u00ader\u00adance, I\u00a0would have to wait until the plant grows and then test it. That takes a\u00a0very long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf instead I\u00a0look directly for the gene struc\u00adture, I\u00a0can already track it with genomics or other tech\u00adniques,\u201d Sebastiani added. \u200b\u201cToday I\u00a0can even sequence the whole genome at reduced cost, and since I\u00a0already have the ref\u00ader\u00adence genome, I\u00a0can see exactly where that gene is and in what posi\u00adtion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could take Leccino, know\u00ading that two or three genes increase tol\u00ader\u00adance, and mod\u00adify only those,\u201d he noted. \u200b\u201cWith edit\u00ading, if every\u00adthing worked, in one or two years, it could be done in the lab. That would be a\u00a0big step for\u00adward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Genomics and map\u00adping the olive tree genes could pave the way to a\u00a0new approach to olive tree farm\u00ading.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While tra\u00addi\u00adtional farm\u00ading often involves cen\u00adtury-old olive orchards, new groves planted with the gene-edited olive vari\u00adeties could prove cru\u00adcial in sup\u00adport\u00ading pro\u00adduc\u00adtion against the back\u00addrop of a\u00a0hot\u00adter and drier Mediterranean cli\u00admate.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch new knowl\u00adedge could trans\u00adlate into changes in pro\u00adduc\u00adtiv\u00adity, inno\u00adva\u00adtion and solu\u00adtions for grow\u00aders,\u201d Sebastiani said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The research team will uti\u00adlize the new genomic infor\u00adma\u00adtion to gain a\u00a0deeper under\u00adstand\u00ading of the dif\u00adfer\u00adences between the two cul\u00adti\u00advars in response to salt stress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also plan, if pos\u00adsi\u00adble, to sequence more vari\u00adeties that inter\u00adest us for their responses to other stresses, includ\u00ading pol\u00adlu\u00adtants,\u201d Sebastiani con\u00adcluded. \u200b\u201cWe\u2019ll def\u00adi\u00adnitely use genomics to under\u00adstand mech\u00ada\u00adnisms bet\u00adter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary An inter\u00adna\u00adtional team of researchers has mapped the com\u00adplete genome of the Leccino and Frantoio olive tree…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":222997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[815,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-222996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115195828547144519","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}