4 - Improving Plants

(Images)

As people start to understand the biology of plants, one also tries to improve crops according to the preferred characteristics that one wants to see in the plant, improving plants from their origin. In this week’s blog we will look in which manner the olive tree pollinates, transgenic plants in agriculture, Spanish olive trees breeding program(s) and understand whether olive trees with the same genotype grown in different regions in Spain have got the same phenotype. 

Pollunation in olive trees

Despite many varieites requiring cross-pollination, most olives trees are self-pollinating (self-fruitful), meaning that bees or the wind can pollinate a single tree and then the tree is able to bear fruits (Florida Concerts, N.D.). A research has show that the crop shows features characteristics of species that belongs to the self-incompatibility group (Olmedilla, 2012):

Having bicellular pollen: a single generative cell (University of Leicester, N.D.)

Wet-papillate stigma

Solid style

Do you support the use of transgenic plants in agriculture? Why or why not?

Trangenic plants in agriculture

Trangenic plants are crops where the DNA have been manipulated in the laboratory with the help of recombinant DNA methods  (Dale, 1993). This is done by cutting and rejoining segments of DNA precisely to eachother. There are advantages linked in the introductions of genes in organisms such as resistance to certain diseases, pests and herbicides, and increased yield in low fertility soils (Parvaiz Ahmad, 2012). One of the main reasonable reason given by supporters of trangenic plants is related to world population that one wants to be able to feed. Therefore in order to feed the 10 billion population in 2050 one expect to do this by improving plant’s DNA. I am in between the debat, as I understand this given argument, but at the same time believe that we should not change any plant’s DNA. Hence, I believe instead of changing crops, we need to adapt ourselves to them.

Olive tree breeding program(s) in Spain

Due to its long lifespan, the olive tree is said to be a suitable model to study the origin of cultivars (Concepción M. Díez, 2011). There are currently several breeding programs operating in Spain. Of which the first olive breeding program was introduced in 1990-91, in Córdoba (The Córdoba Breeding Program, was developed by the University of Córdoba and the IFAPA), which aimed at superseding the usage of the main cultivars  (Rosa, 2007) (Rallo, N.D.). Next to this, early fruit bearing and high oil productivity were the two main objectives for the introduction of this breeding program.

When breeding olive trees one makes use of traditional techniques, which involve in crossing amoung parents of known (Lorenzo Leon, 2014), and clonal selection (Andrea Fabbri, N.D.).

Breeding olive tree has resulted in productive varieites with high oil content (with traits as eraly fruit bearing and oil composition) (Rallo, N.D.), resistance to pests and abiotic stresses (frost and drought), and high-quality production (Andrea Fabbri, N.D.).

Genotype

A survey that aimed to look for phenotypic diversity within olive, had concluded that it is an unusual phenomenon (Concepcion M. Dıez, 2011). This might be because of small differences in genetic in the cultivars, since they belong to ancient known cultivars or simply because the olive tree is able to adapt itself in different climate.

References

Andrea Fabbri, M. L.-T. (N.D.). Olive Breeding. Springer Link. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-387-71201-7_12

Concepcion M. Dıez, I. T. (2011). Centennial olive trees as a reservoir of genetic diversity. Oxford Journals. doi:10.1093/aob/mcr194

Concepción M. Díez, I. T. (2011). Centennial olive trees as a reservoir of genetic diversity. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/aob/mcr194

Dale, P. (1993). The release of transgenic plants into agriculture. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/S0021859600073524

Florida Concerts. (N.D.). Olive Tree Pollination and Yields. Retrieved September 25, 2017, from Florida Concerts: http://floridaconcerts.org/http-www.floridaconcerts.org-olive-trees-and-pollination.htm

Images, G. (n.d.). Olive trees. Olive trees in Tuscany, Italy. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from http://time.com/3856921/italy-olives-plague/

Lorenzo Leon, L. V. (2014, August 15). Initial selection steps in olive breeding programs. doi:10.1007/s10681-014-1232-z

Olmedilla, I. S. (2012). Histochemical location of key enzyme activities involved in receptivity and self-incompatibility in the olive tree (Olea europaea L.). ScienceDirect. Elsevier. Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945212001501#bib0140

Parvaiz Ahmad, M. A.-Q. (2012). Role of transgenic plants in agriculture and biopharming. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.09.006

Rallo, L. (N.D.). The olive growing in Spain and its genetic. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from FOSAN: http://www.fosan.it/system/files/Anno_42_1_3.pdf

Rosa, L. L. (2007). Breeding for Early Bearing in Olive. HortScience. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/42/3/499.full

University of Leicester. (N.D.). Pollen is... Retrieved September 25, 2017, from University of Leicester: Pollen is...