Olive Domestication and Diversification in the Mediterranean Basin

Among domesticated plants, a major distinction is the difference between annual and perennial life cycles.  The domestication of perennials is expected to follow different processes than annuals, with distinct genetic outcomes.  Important issues for understanding the process of domestication – such as genetic bottlenecks and introgression as a source of local adaptation - have been studied nominally in major annual crops but even less extensively in perennials.  Here I will focus on one perennial, olive (Olea europaea ssp. europaea) and a study of its genetic diversity within the Mediterranean Basin.  The study provides insights into the complex demographic history of olive and reveals the potential for multiple domestication events and/or local introgression.