Based on this evidence, a new scenario for the origin and distribution of this important fruit crop has been traced. The evaluation of olive trees growing in the eastern part of the Levant highlighted a new perspective on the spread and distribution of olive, suggesting two routes of olive differentiation, one westward, spreading along the Mediterranean basin, and another moving towards the east and reaching the Iranian plateau before its domestication.

Aggregation of ␣-synuclein (␣SN) is implicated in neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's disease and has prompted searches for natural compounds inhibiting ␣SN aggregation and reducing its tendency to form toxic oligomers. Oil from the olive tree (Olea europaea L.) represents the main source of fat in the Mediterranean diet and contains variable levels of phenolic compounds, many structurally related to the compound oleuropein. Here, using ␣SN aggregation, fibrillation, size-exclusion chromatography-multiangle light scattering (SEC-MALS)based assays, and toxicity assays, we systematically screened the fruit extracts of 15 different olive varieties to identify compounds that can inhibit ␣SN aggregation and oligomer toxicity and also have antioxidant activity. Polyphenol composition differed markedly among varieties. The variety with the most effective antioxidant and aggregation activities, Koroneiki, combined strong inhibition of ␣SN fibril nucleation and elongation with strong disaggregation activity on preformed fibrils and prevented the formation of toxic ␣SN oligomers. Fractionation of the Koroneiki extract identified oleuropein aglycone, hydroxyl oleuropein aglycone, and oleuropein as key compounds responsible for the differences in inhibition across the extracts. These phenolic compounds inhibited ␣SN amyloidogenesis by directing ␣SN monomers into small ␣SN oligomers with lower toxicity, thereby suppressing the subsequent fibril growth phase. Our results highlight the molecular consequences of differences in the level of effective phenolic compounds in different olive varieties, insights that have implications for long-term human health.

BackgroundOlive trees (Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. europaea) naturally grow in areas spanning the Mediterranean basin and towards the East, including the Middle East. In the Iranian plateau, the presence of olives has been documented since very ancient times, though the early history of the crop in this area is shrouded in uncertainty.MethodsThe varieties presently cultivated in Iran and trees of an unknown cultivation status, surviving under extreme climate and soil conditions, were sampled from different provinces and compared with a set of Mediterranean cultivars. All samples were analyzed using SSR and chloroplast markers to establish the relationships between Iranian olives and Mediterranean varieties, to shed light on the origins of Iranian olives and to verify their contribution to the development of the current global olive variation.ResultsIranian cultivars and ecotypes, when analyzed using SSR markers, clustered separately from Mediterranean cultivars and showed a high number of private alleles, on the contrary, they shared the same single chlorotype with the most widespread varieties cultivated in the Mediterranean.ConclusionWe hypothesized that Iranian and Mediterranean olive trees may have had a common origin from a unique center in the Near East region, possibly including the western Iranian area. The present pattern of variation may have derived from different environmental conditions, distinct levels and selection criteria, and divergent breeding opportunities found by Mediterranean and Iranian olives.These unexpected findings emphasize the importance of studying the Iranian olive germplasm as a promising but endangered source of variation.

The specific contribution of different stearoyl-ACP desaturase (SAD) genes to the oleic acid content in olive (Olea europaea) fruit has been studied. Towards that end, we isolated three distinct cDNA clones encoding three SAD isoforms from olive (cv. Picual), as revealed by sequence analysis. The expression levels of olive SAD genes were determined in different tissues from Picual and Arbequina cultivars, including developing mesocarp and seed, together with the unsaturated fatty acid content. Lipid and gene expression analysis indicate that OeSAD2 seems to be the main gene contributing to the oleic acid content of the olive fruit and, therefore, of the virgin olive oil. This conclusion was confirmed when the study was extended to Hojiblanca, Picudo and Manzanilla cultivars. Furthermore, our data indicate that the olive microsomal oleate desaturase gene OeFAD2-2, but not OeSAD2, is responsible for the linoleic acid content in the virgin olive oil.

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