BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE DATE PALM (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA L., ARECACEAE): INSIGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND ON THE STRUCTURE OF MODERN DIVERSITY

Molecular clocks and archaeogenomics of a Late Period Egyptian date palm leaf reveal introgression from wild relatives and add timestamps on the domestication

The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, has been a cornerstone of Middle Eastern and North African agriculture for millennia. It was first domesticated in the Persian Gulf, and its evolution appears to have been influenced by gene flow from two wild relatives, P. theophrasti, currently restricted to Crete and Turkey, and P. sylvestris, widespread from Bangladesh to the West Himalayas. Genomes of ancient date palm seeds show that gene flow from P. theophrasti to P. dactylifera may have occurred by ∼2,200 years ago, but traces of P. sylvestris could not be detected. We here integrate archeogenomics of a ∼2,100-year-old P. dactylifera leaf from Saqqara (Egypt), molecular-clock dating, and coalescence approaches with population genomic tests, to probe the hybridization between the date palm and its two closest relatives and provide minimum and maximum timestamps for its reticulated evolution. The Saqqara date palm shares a close genetic affinity with North African date palm populations, and we find clear genomic admixture from both P. theophrasti, and P. sylvestris, indicating that both had contributed to the date palm genome by 2,100 years ago. Molecular-clocks placed the divergence of P. theophrasti from P. dactylifera/P. sylvestris and that of P. dactylifera from P. sylvestris in the Upper Miocene, but strongly supported, conflicting topologies point to older gene flow between P. theophrasti and P. dactylifera, and P. sylvestris and P. dactylifera. Our work highlights the ancient hybrid origin of the date palms, and prompts the investigation of the functional significance of genetic material introgressed from both close relatives, which in turn could prove useful for modern date palm breeding.

On the necessity of combining ethnobotany and genetics to assess agrobiodiversity and its evolution in crops: A case study on date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Siwa Oasis, Egypt

Crop diversity is shaped by biological and social processes interacting at different spatiotemporal scales. Here, we combined population genetics and ethnobotany to investigate date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) diversity in Siwa Oasis, Egypt. Based on interviews with farmers and observation of practices in the field, we collected 149 date palms from Siwa Oasis and 27 uncultivated date palms from abandoned oases in the surrounding desert. Using genotyping data from 18 nuclear and plastid microsatellite loci, we confirmed that some named types each constitute a clonal line, that is, a true-to-type cultivar. We also found that others are collections of clonal lines, that is, ethnovarieties, or even unrelated samples, that is, local categories. This alters current assessments of agrobiodiversity, which are visibly underestimated, and uncovers the impact of low-intensity, but highly effective, farming practices on biodiversity. These hardly observable practices, hypothesized by ethnographic survey and confirmed by genetic analysis, are enabled by the way Isiwans conceive and classify living beings in their oasis, which do not quite match the way biologists do: a classic disparity of etic versus. emic categorizations. In addition, we established that Siwa date palms represent a unique and highly diverse genetic cluster, rather than a subset of North African and Middle Eastern palm diversity. As previously shown, North African date palms display evidence of introgression by the wild relative Phoenix theophrasti, and we found that the uncultivated date palms from the abandoned oases share even more alleles with this species than cultivated palms in this region. The study of Siwa date palms could hence be a key to the understanding of date palm diversification in North Africa. Integration of ethnography and population genetics promoted the understanding of the interplay between diversity management in the oasis (short-time scale), and the origins and dynamic of diversity through domestication and diversification (long-time scale).

Novel subpopulations in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) identified by population-wide organellar genome sequencing

Background

The date palm is one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees. The tree can withstand high temperatures and low water and the fruit can be stored dry offering nutrition across the year. The first region of cultivation is believed to be near modern day Iraq, however, where and if the date palm was domesticated is still a topic of debate. Recent studies of chloroplast and genomic DNA revealed two major subpopulations of cultivars centered in both the Eastern range of date palm cultivation including Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and parts of South Asia, and the Western range, including North Africa.

Results

To better understand the origins of date palm cultivation we sequenced and analyzed over 200 mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes from a geographically diverse set of date palms. Here we show that, based on mitochondrial and chloroplast genome-wide genotyping data, the most common cultivated date palms contain 4 haplotypes that appear associated with geographical region of cultivar origin.

Conclusions

These data suggest at least 3 and possibly 4 original maternal contributions to the current date palm population and doubles the original number. One new haplotype was found mainly in Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt and the second in Iraq, Iran and Oman. We propose that earliest date palm cultivation occurred independently in at least 3 distinct locations. This discovery will further inform understanding of the history and origins of cultivated date palm.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5834-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Genomic Insights into Date Palm Origins

With the development of next-generation sequencing technology, the amount of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) genomic data has grown rapidly and yielded new insights into this species and its origins. Here, we review advances in understanding of the evolutionary history of the date palm, with a particular emphasis on what has been learned from the analysis of genomic data. We first record current genomic resources available for date palm including genome assemblies and resequencing data. We discuss new insights into its domestication and diversification history based on these improved genomic resources. We further report recent discoveries such as the existence of wild ancestral populations in remote locations of Oman and high differentiation between African and Middle Eastern populations. While genomic data are consistent with the view that domestication took place in the Gulf region, they suggest that the process was more complex involving multiple gene pools and possibly a secondary domestication. Many questions remain unanswered, especially regarding the genetic architecture of domestication and diversification. We provide a road map to future studies that will further clarify the domestication history of this iconic crop.

Diversity of Algerian oases date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., Arecaceae): Heterozygote excess and cryptic structure suggest farmer management had a major impact on diversity

Date palm (Phoenix dactyliferaL.) is the mainstay of oasis agriculture in the Saharan region. It is cultivated in a large part of the Mediterranean coastal area of the Sahara and in most isolated oases in the Algerian desert. We sampled 10 oases in Algeria to understand the structure of date palm diversity from the coastal area to a very isolated desert location. We used 18 microsatellite markers and a chloroplast minisatellite to characterize 414 individual palm trees corresponding to 114 named varieties. We found a significant negative inbreeding coefficient, suggesting active farmer selection for heterozygous individuals. Three distinct genetic clusters were identified, a ubiquitous set of varieties found across the different oases, and two clusters, one of which was specific to the northern area, and the other to the drier southern area of the Algerian Sahara. The ubiquitous cluster presented very striking chloroplast diversity, signing the frequency of haplotypes found in Saudi Arabia, the most eastern part of the date palm range. Exchanges of Middle Eastern and Algerian date palms are known to have occurred and could have led to the introduction of this particular chlorotype. However, Algerian nuclear diversity was not of eastern origin. Our study strongly suggests that the peculiar chloroplastic diversity of date palm is maintained by farmers and could originate from date palms introduced from the Middle East a long time ago, which since then, hasbeen strongly introgressed. This study illustrates the complex structure of date palm diversity in Algerian oases and the role of farmers in shaping such cryptic diversity.

The Domestication Syndrome in Phoenix dactylifera Seeds: Toward the Identification of Wild Date Palm Populations

Investigating crop origins is a priority to understand the evolution of plants under domestication, develop strategies for conservation and valorization of agrobiodiversity and acquire fundamental knowledge for cultivar improvement. The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) belongs to the genus Phoenix, which comprises 14 species morphologically very close, sometimes hardly distinguishable. It has been cultivated for millennia in the Middle East and in North Africa and constitutes the keystone of oasis agriculture. Yet, its origins remain poorly understood as no wild populations are identified. Uncultivated populations have been described but they might represent feral, i.e. formerly cultivated, abandoned forms rather than truly wild populations. In this context, this study based on morphometrics applied to 1625 Phoenix seeds aims to (1) differentiate Phoenix species and (2) depict the domestication syndrome observed in cultivated date palm seeds using other Phoenix species as a "wild" reference. This will help discriminate truly wild from feral forms, thus providing new insights into the evolutionary history of this species. Seed size was evaluated using four parameters: length, width, thickness and dorsal view surface. Seed shape was quantified using outline analyses based on the Elliptic Fourier Transform method. The size and shape of seeds allowed an accurate differentiation of Phoenix species. The cultivated date palm shows distinctive size and shape features, compared to other Phoenix species: seeds are longer and elongated. This morphological shift may be interpreted as a domestication syndrome, resulting from the long-term history of cultivation, selection and human-mediated dispersion. Based on seed attributes, some uncultivated date palms from Oman may be identified as wild. This opens new prospects regarding the possible existence and characterization of relict wild populations and consequently for the understanding of the date palm origins. Finally, we here describe a pipeline for the identification of the domestication syndrome in seeds that could be used in other crops.

Endemic insular and coastal Tunisian date palm genetic diversity

The breeding of crop species relies on the valorisation of ancestral or wild varieties to enrich the cultivated germplasm. The Tunisian date palm genetic patrimony is being threatened by diversity loss and global climate change. We have conducted a genetic study to evaluate the potential of spontaneous coastal resources to improve the currently exploited Tunisian date palm genetic pool. Eighteen microsatellite loci of Phoenix dactylifera L. were used to compare the genetic diversity of coastal accessions from Kerkennah, Djerba, Gabès and continental date palm accessions from Tozeur. A collection of 105 date palms from the four regions was analysed. This study has provided us with an extensive understanding of the local genetic diversity and its distribution. The coastal date palm genotypes exhibit a high and specific genetic diversity. These genotypes are certainly an untapped reservoir of agronomically important genes to improve cultivated germplasm in continental date palm.

Whole genome re-sequencing of date palms yields insights into diversification of a fruit tree crop

Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) are the most significant perennial crop in arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa. Here, we present a comprehensive catalogue of approximately seven million single nucleotide polymorphisms in date palms based on whole genome re-sequencing of a collection of 62 cultivars. Population structure analysis indicates a major genetic divide between North Africa and the Middle East/South Asian date palms, with evidence of admixture in cultivars from Egypt and Sudan. Genome-wide scans for selection suggest at least 56 genomic regions associated with selective sweeps that may underlie geographic adaptation. We report candidate mutations for trait variation, including nonsense polymorphisms and presence/absence variation in gene content in pathways for key agronomic traits. We also identify a copia-like retrotransposon insertion polymorphism in the R2R3 myb-like orthologue of the oil palm virescens gene associated with fruit colour variation. This analysis documents patterns of post-domestication diversification and provides a genomic resource for this economically important perennial tree crop.

Genetic structure of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in the Old World reveals a strong differentiation between eastern and western populations

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera, Arecaceae) are of great economic and ecological value to the oasis agriculture of arid and semi-arid areas. However, despite the availability of a large date palm germplasm spreading from the Atlantic shores to Southern Asia, improvement of the species is being hampered by a lack of information on global genetic diversity and population structure. In order to contribute to the varietal improvement of date palms and to provide new insights on the influence of geographic origins and human activity on the genetic structure of the date palm, this study analysed the diversity of the species.

METHODS

Genetic diversity levels and population genetic structure were investigated through the genotyping of a collection of 295 date palm accessions ranging from Mauritania to Pakistan using a set of 18 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and a plastid minisatellite.

KEY RESULTS

Using a Bayesian clustering approach, the date palm genotypes can be structured into two different gene pools: the first, termed the Eastern pool, consists of accessions from Asia and Djibouti, whilst the second, termed the Western pool, consists of accessions from Africa. These results confirm the existence of two ancient gene pools that have contributed to the current date palm diversity. The presence of admixed genotypes is also noted, which points at gene flows between eastern and western origins, mostly from east to west, following a human-mediated diffusion of the species.

CONCLUSIONS

This study assesses the distribution and level of genetic diversity of accessible date palm resources, provides new insights on the geographic origins and genetic history of the cultivated component of this species, and confirms the existence of at least two domestication origins. Furthermore, the strong genetic structure clearly established here is a prerequisite for any breeding programme exploiting the effective polymorphism related to each gene pool.

The chloroplast DNA locus psbZ-trnfM as a potential barcode marker in Phoenix L. (Arecaceae)

The genus Phoenix (Arecaceae) comprises 14 species distributed from Cape Verde Islands to SE Asia. It includes the economically important species Phoenix dactylifera. The paucity of differential morphological and anatomical useful characters, and interspecific hybridization, make identification of Phoenix species difficult. In this context, the development of reliable DNA markers for species and hybrid identification would be of great utility. Previous studies identified a 12 bp polymorphic chloroplast minisatellite in the trnG (GCC)-trnfM (CAU) spacer, and showed its potential for species identification in Phoenix. In this work, in order to develop an efficient DNA barcode marker for Phoenix, a longer cpDNA region (700 bp) comprising the mentioned minisatellite, and located between the psbZ and trnfM (CAU) genes, was sequenced. One hundred and thirty-six individuals, representing all Phoenix species except P. andamanensis,were analysed. The minisatellite showed 2-7 repetitions of the 12 bp motif, with 1-3 out of seven haplotypes per species. Phoenix reclinata and P. canariensis had species-specific haplotypes. Additional polymorphisms were found in the flanking regions of the minisatellite, including substitutions, indels and homopolymers. All this information allowed us to identify unambiguously eight out of the 13 species, and overall 80% of the individuals sampled. Phoenix rupicola and P. theophrasti had the same haplotype, and so had P. atlantica, P. dactylifera, and P. sylvestris (the "date palm complex" sensu Pintaud et al. 2013). For these species, additional molecular markers will be required for their unambiguous identification. The psbZ-trnfM (CAU) region therefore could be considered as a good basis for the establishment of a DNA barcoding system in Phoenix, and is potentially useful for the identification of the female parent in Phoenix hybrids.