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This study aimed to identify and evaluate the genetic diversity of olive trees in Jordan, a country located in the eastern Mediterranean, where olive domestication originated. For this purpose, a total of 386 olive trees were analyzed, including 338 collected from two surveys (JOCC-1 and JOCC-2) across seven regions, and 48 selected accessions from the Olive Germplasm Bank of Jordan (JGBOC). These trees underwent comprehensive phenotypic and molecular characterization using different tools. Significant differences inmorphological traits were detected among tested regions using the Chi-square test. Principal components analysis revealed that fruit color change and growth habit as the most discriminating traits, segregating the trees into two groups, with the first group including the KANABISI cultivar and the second group including the KFARI BALADI cultivar. Utilizing Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR assay, two sets of informative SNPs were used for the genetic diversity analysis. Cladograms were constructed using the maximum likelihood method, revealing a consistent pattern where two clades containing identical genotypes were observed to cluster with the KFARI BALADI or KANABISI. In addition, the SNP data was used to perform a comparative analysis with the Worldwide Olive Germplasm Bank of Co'rdoba, which revealed 73 unreported olive genotypes from Jordan. Genetic structure analyses using Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC) identified four clusters with distinctive patterns of relatedness among 149 unique accessions, including 52 olive accessions from various Mediterranean countries (IOCC-3). ADMIXTURE analysis revealed four genetic clusters, consistentwith the clustering observed inDAPC and cladogram analysis, indicating a high level of genetic admixture among Jordanian olive germplasm. In conclusion, the results show that olive trees in Jordan are highly diverse, providing valuable information for future conservation and management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome of the olive cultivar Mehras was determined using high-throughput sequencing technology. It consisted of 710,808 base pairs and comprised 70 genes, including 44 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA genes, and three rRNA genes, with a GC content of 44.7%. Significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (InDels) were detected throughout the mitogenome. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using other genotypes, including five olive cultivars, three related species, and Olea exasperata as an out-group. The analysis revealed that the olive cultivar Mehras shares an ancient common ancestor with the Frantoio cultivar from Italy and the Manzanilla cultivar from Spain, which confirms previous findings based on plastome sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted over four successive years (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011) on ‘Nabali Muhassan’ olive cultivar at a private olive orchard located in the northern part of Jordan (Ramtha area). Experimental treatments applied were irrigation with fresh water (underground well water) and reclaimed wastewater to be compared with the rain-fed (non-irrigated) treatment. Total quantity of fresh water and reclaimed wastewater applied were similar during the irrigation period. Analysis of irrigation water showed higher EC value for reclaimed wastewater as compared to fresh water. Average values of pH, EC, TSS, cations, anions, N, NO3, B, heavy metals, BOD5, COD and fecal coliform in reclaimed wastewater were within the Jordanian standard for water use in irrigation of fruit trees, however, the values of SAR, Cl and Na were higher than the standard limits. Results of soil analysis indicated that soil chemical properties (pH, EC, Ca, Na, SAR, ESP, P, K, Cu, Mn, Pb and B) in soil irrigated with reclaimed wastewater were significantly higher than in soil irrigated with fresh water. The application of reclaimed wastewater or fresh water showed significant increase in annual shoot length as compared to rain-fed treatment. Average olive tree yield was significantly higher for fresh water treatment than the rain-fed treatment, which was not significantly different from the reclaimed wastewater treatment. Fruit oil content based on fresh weight and dry weight basis were significantly higher in rain-fed treatment than freshwater and reclaimed wastewater treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Olea europaea subsp. europaea cultivar Mehras was determined using high-throughput sequencing technology. Chloroplast genome was 155,897 bp in length, containing a pair of 25,742 bp inverted repeat (IR) regions, which were separated by large and small single-copy regions (LSC and SSC) of 86,622 and 17,791 bp, respectively. The chloroplast genome contained 130 genes (85 protein-coding, 37 tRNA, and eight rRNA). GC content was 37.8%. We performed phylogenetic analysis with other isolates. The analysis showed that O. e. subsp. europaea cultivar Mehras has an ancient common ancestor with cultivated olives in Italy, Spain, and Cyprus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirteen Jordanian olive cultivars ( Olea europaea L.) were characterized using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) markers. Using 15 RAPD and 14 ISSR primers, 156 and 85 reproducible markers were obtained, respectively. The percentage of polymorphism was 55 for RAPD and 58 for ISSR. Of the total polymorphisms identified, eight RAPD and three ISSR markers were cultivar-specific. Thirty-nine RAPD markers were able to distinguish 10 cultivars and 12 ISSR markers were able to distinguish 6 cultivars. Both markers (RAPD and ISSRs) were able to discriminate between all cultivars, indicating that when used in tandem, they represent powerful tools for olive varietal identification, enabling an accurate characterization of all cultivars. Such information may prove useful in the selection of optimal varietals and help promote continued progress in olive breeding strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]