Olive biodiversity in Colombia. A molecular study of local germplasm

- Olive accessions widespread in Boyacá (Colombia) were characterized by SSR markers.
- Picual and Azapa genotypes were identified thanks to comparison with two SSR databases.
- Five unknown genotypes of horticultural relevance were singled out.
- Several homonymy and synonymy cases were revealed.

The olive tree has been present in Colombia for several centuries, however we still do not know the identity of old olive trees present in this territory.This study aimed at characterizing and identifying the Colombian germplasm for the first time through molecular analysis. Thirty-nine olive accessions were subjected to genotyping with ten SSR (ssrOeUA-DCA, UDO099, GAPU, EMO series) markers. The set of chosen markers resulted as a whole highly polymorphic, and made possible the characterization of all studied accessions. Data were analysed by cluster analysis, and results revealed a good genetic variability within the olive germplasm. Nineteen genetic profiles were discriminated and among these different cases of intra-varietal clones. Only some accessions (about 28% of the studied germplasm) have shown genetic identity with known cultivars (Picual and Azapa). The remaining accessions were distinguished and assembled in 5 different genotypes of unknown origin. In addition, the majority of genotypes found does not correspond to the names given in the region, and several cases of homonymy and synonymy were revealed. The data obtained suggest that confusion on naming of the accessions as well as propagation errors might have occurred either in the countries of origin of the samples and/or in the Colombian region.