Reply to Saumitou-Laprade et al. (2017) "Controlling for genetic identity of varieties, pollen contamination and stigma receptivity is essential to characterize the self-incompatibility system of Olea europaea L.". Eva:https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12498

Seed Paternity Analysis Using SSR Markers to Assess Successful Pollen Donors in Mixed Olive Orchards

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is a wind-pollinated crop that exhibits an extreme alternate bearing habit. To improve fruit set, several methods have been used to determine the most successful compatible combinations of cultivars. In this study, priority is given to seed paternity analysis based on simple sequence repeats (SSRs), microsatellite markers used for the identification of potential pollen donors of cultivar ‘Oblica’ in a mixed olive orchard during two consecutive years. Seven microsatellite primers were successfully used to examine the paternity of olive embryos from ‘Oblica’ mother trees. Embryos were considered as a product of self-fertilization if only maternal alleles were present, but not a single case of self-fertilization was found among all the embryos analyzed. Two dominant pollen donors were not the closest nor the cultivars with the highest number of trees in the orchard, suggesting that cross-compatibility may have a key role in determining pollen donor success. In our earlier studies, pollen tube growth and fertilization success correlated with fruit set when controlled crosses between cultivars were performed; however, some discrepancy might appear compared to paternity analyses when mother trees have a free choice among different pollen sources from cultivars growing in their surroundings.

A Dual-Successive-Screen Model at Pollen/Stigma and Pollen Tube/Ovary Explaining Paradoxical Self-Incompatibility Diagnosis in the Olive Tree—An Interpretative Update of the Literature

The ‘pollen test’ and ‘fruit set test’ following controlled crossing combinations of parents are the most commonly used methods for pollination incompatibility studies in Olea europaea L. Self-incompatibility (SI), with diagnoses based on the pollen test and pollen germination, indicating self-compatibility, is not always followed by fruit set in this species. To solve this dispute, we have reconciled all observations into a new model. Mismatches between field and laboratory data and between methods are resolved by the dual-successive-screen model (DSSM) supposing two different loci for the expression of the two SI mechanisms. Pollen/stigma is controlled by diallelic SI, or DSI, inferring two G1 and G2 compatibility/incompatibility (C/I) groups for varieties, whereas pollen tubes in ovaries are controlled by poly-allelic SI or PASI with twenty C/I groups. To explain the selfing of varieties, we have suggested that some determinants in the pollen tube and stigma are unstable and degrade (DS-D for degradation of S-determinant) after three to five days, enabling some pollen tubes to avoid being rejected, hence reaching ovules. DSI and PASI in the DSSM and DS-D mechanisms, plus the andromonoecy of the olive tree, complexify SI studies. Inferences from DSSM and DS-D mechanisms in olive orchard practice are detailed.

Diallelic self-incompatibility is the main determinant of fertilization patterns in olive orchards

Self-incompatibility (SI) in flowering plants potentially represents a major obstacle for sexual reproduction, especially when the number of S-alleles is low. The situation is extreme in the commercially important olive tree, where in vitro pollination assays suggested the existence of a diallelic SI (DSI) system involving only two groups (G1 and G2). Varieties belonging to the same SI group cannot fertilize each other, such that successful fruit production is predicted to require pollination between varieties of different groups. To test this prediction, we explored the extent to which the DSI system determines fertilization patterns under field conditions. One hundred and seventeen olive cultivars were first genotyped using 10 highly polymorphic dinucleotide Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers to ascertain varietal identity. Cultivars were then phenotyped through controlled pollination tests to assign each of them to one of the two SI groups. We then collected and genotyped 1440 open pollinated embryos from five different orchards constituted of seven local cultivars with known group of incompatibility groups. Embryos genotype information were used: (i) to assign embryos to the most likely pollen donor genotype in the neighbourhood using paternity analysis, and (ii) to compare the composition of the pollen cloud genetic among recipient trees in the five sites. The paternity analysis showed that the DSI system is the main determinant of fertilization success under field open pollination conditions: G1 cultivars sired seeds exclusively on G2 cultivars, and reciprocally. No self-fertilization events were observed. Our results demonstrate that DSI is a potent force determining pollination success among varieties within olive orchards used for production. They have the potential to improve management practices by guiding the selection of compatible varieties to avoid planting orchards containing sets of varieties with strongly unbalanced SI groups, as these would lead to suboptimal olive production.

Paternity tests support a diallelic self-incompatibility system in a wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. laperrinei, Oleaceae)

Self-incompatibility (SI) is the main mechanism that favors outcrossing in plants. By limiting compatible matings, SI interferes in fruit production and breeding of new cultivars. In the Oleeae tribe (Oleaceae), an unusual diallelic SI system (DSI) has been proposed for three distantly related species including the olive (Olea europaea), but empirical evidence has remained controversial for this latter. The olive domestication is a complex process with multiple origins. As a consequence, the mixing of S-alleles from two distinct taxa, the possible artificial selection of self-compatible mutants and the large phenological variation of blooming may constitute obstacles for deciphering SI in olive. Here, we investigate cross-genotype compatibilities in the Saharan wild olive (O. e. subsp. laperrinei). As this taxon was geographically isolated for thousands of years, SI should not be affected by human selection. A population of 37 mature individuals maintained in a collection was investigated. Several embryos per mother were genotyped with microsatellites in order to identify compatible fathers that contributed to fertilization. While the pollination was limited by distance inside the collection, our results strongly support the DSI hypothesis, and all individuals were assigned to two incompatibility groups (G1 and G2). No self-fertilization was observed in our conditions. In contrast, crosses between full or half siblings were frequent (ca. 45%), which is likely due to a nonrandom assortment of related trees in the collection. Finally, implications of our results for orchard management and the conservation of olive genetic resources are discussed.

Genetic insights into the modification of the pre-fertilization mechanisms during plant domestication

Plant domestication is the process of adapting plants to human use by selecting specific traits. The selection process often involves the modification of some components of the plant reproductive mechanisms. Allelic variants of genes associated with flowering time, vernalization, and the circadian clock are responsible for the adaptation of crops, such as rice, maize, barley, wheat, and tomato, to non-native latitudes. Modifications in the plant architecture and branching have been selected for higher yields and easier harvests. These phenotypes are often produced by alterations in the regulation of the transition of shoot apical meristems to inflorescences, and then to floral meristems. Floral homeotic mutants are responsible for popular double-flower phenotypes in Japanese cherries, roses, camellias, and lilies. The rise of peloric flowers in ornamentals such as snapdragon and florists' gloxinia is associated with non-functional alleles that control the relative expansion of lateral and ventral petals. Mechanisms to force outcrossing such as self-incompatibility have been removed in some tree crops cultivars such as almonds and peaches. In this review, we revisit some of these important concepts from the plant domestication perspective, focusing on four topics related to the pre-fertilization mechanisms: flowering time, inflorescence architecture, flower development, and pre-fertilization self-incompatibility mechanisms.

Self-Incompatibility Assessment of Some Italian Olive Genotypes (Olea europaea L.) and Cross-Derived Seedling Selection by SSR Markers on Seed Endosperms

The morphology of olive flowers allows either self- or cross-pollination that could partially explain the existence of both reproductive features in this species. However, a high degree of self-incompatibility is reported for many olive genotypes, that could be an important reproductive barrier influencing olive yield. Due to the strong environmental influence, results of compatibility tests are often contradictory, making cultivar classification quite imprecise. In this study, the self-incompatibility value has been determined for four olive genotypes (Bella di Spagna, Coratina, Leccino, and Ogliarola barese) widespread in the Mediterranean basin. Moreover, the incompatibility relationships of cultivar Coratina with some suitable pollinizers (Leccino, Oliastro, and Picholine) have been studied in controlled crosses: the in vitro germination potential of progenies has been evaluated and the selection of cross-derived embryos has been indirectly performed by the molecular characterization of the corresponding endosperm. The results increase knowledge on factors affecting self-compatibility in olive. Moreover, they provide useful information to farmers about the most effective cultivars for the set-up of new olive grove or for graft planning. Finally, they provide a new strategy and procedure based on endosperm analysis by SSRs for an accurate, fast, and relatively cheap screening of embryos/seedlings.

The Paradox of Self-Fertile Varieties in the Context of Self-Incompatible Genotypes in Olive

Olive, representing one of the most important fruit crops of the Mediterranean area, is characterized by a general low fruit yield, due to numerous constraints, including alternate bearing, low flower viability, male-sterility, inter-incompatibility, and self-incompatibility (SI). Early efforts to clarify the genetic control of SI in olive gave conflicting results, and only recently, the genetic control of SI has been disclosed, revealing that olive possesses an unconventional homomorphic sporophytic diallelic system of SI, dissimilar from other described plants. This system, characterized by the presence of two SI groups, prevents self-fertilization and regulates inter-compatibility between cultivars, such that cultivars bearing the same incompatibility group are incompatible. Despite the presence of a functional SI, some varieties, in particular conditions, are able to set seeds following self-fertilization, a mechanism known as pseudo-self-compatibility (PSC), as widely reported in previous literature. Here, we summarize the results of previous works on SI in olive, particularly focusing on the occurrence of self-fertility, and offer a new perspective in view of the recent elucidation of the genetic architecture of the SI system in olive. Recent advances in research aimed at unraveling the molecular bases of SI and its breakdown in olive are also presented. The clarification of these mechanisms may have a huge impact on orchard management and will provide fundamental information for the future of olive breeding programs.