Catherine Breton

Bio: Catherine Breton is an academic researcher from Bioversity International. The author has contributed to research in topics: RAPD & Domestication. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 44 publications receiving 1260 citations. Previous affiliations of Catherine Breton include Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III & University of Montpellier.

Genetic diversity and gene flow between the wild olive (oleaster, Olea europaea L.) and the olive: several Plio‐Pleistocene refuge zones in the Mediterranean basin suggested by simple sequence repeats analysis

Abstract: Aim The oleaster is believed to have originated in the eastern Mediterranean, implying that those in the western Mediterranean basin could be feral. Several studies with different molecular markers (isozymes, random amplified polymorphic DNA, amplified fragment length polymorphism) have shown a cline between the eastern and the western populations, which supports this hypothesis. To reconstruct the post-glacial colonization history and establish a relationship between olive and oleaster populations in the Mediterranean basin, analyses were carried out on the genetic variation of chloroplast DNA (chlorotype) and at 12 unlinked simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci, sampling a total of 20 oleaster groves. Location This is the first known large-scale molecular study of SSR loci based on samples of both oleasters and cultivars from the entire Mediterranean basin. Methods Samples were taken from 166 oleasters in 20 groves of modern populations, and 40 cultivars to represent molecular diversity in the cultivated olive. The Bayesian method and admixture analysis were used to construct the ancestral populations (RPOP; reconstructed panmictic oleaster populations) and to estimate the proportion of each RPOP in each tree. If one tree can be assigned to two or more RPOPs, it can be regarded as a product of hybridization between trees from different populations (i.e. admix origin). Results On this first examination of the SSR genetic diversity in the olive and oleaster, it was found to be structured in seven RPOPs in both eastern and western populations. Based on different population genetic methods, it was shown that: (1) oleasters are equally present in the eastern and the western Mediterranean, (2) are native, and (3) are not derived from cultivars. Chlorotypes (one and three in the eastern and western Mediterranean, respectively) revealed fruit displacement for the oleasters. Main conclusions Oleaster genetic diversity is divided into seven regions that could overlay glacial refuges. The gradient, or cline, of genetic diversity revealed by chloroplast and SSR molecular markers was explained by oleaster recolonization of the Mediterranean basin from refuges after the last glacial event, located in both eastern and western regions. It is likely that gene flow has occurred in oleasters mediated by cultivars spread by human migration or through trade. Animals may have helped spread oleasters locally, but humans have probably transported olives but not oleaster fruits over long distances. We found that cultivars may have originated in several RPOPs, and thus, some may have a more complex origin than expected initially.

The use of molecular markers for germplasm management in a French olive collection.

Abstract: With more than 100 accessions, the CBNMP olive collection includes a major part of the French germplasm. We used molecular markers to characterise all accessions and to study genetic relationships between cultivars. Firstly, 497 olive trees were genotyped using 32 RAPD markers. We identified 114 RAPD profiles and detected several cases of mislabelling, synonymy and homonymy. Secondly, for each RAPD profile, one tree was analysed using mtDNA RFLPs to determine the cytoplasmic lineage of each cultivar and using five nuclear SSR loci. French germplasm displayed ME1, MOM and MCK mitotypes with ME1 prevailing (84%). Based on SSR markers, we revealed a slight differentiation between French cultivars growing in the West and the East side of the Rhone Valley. This study allowed us to construct a molecular data-base for the reference collection and to analyse genetic diversity for further prospecting, and for introducing new olive accessions.

Cultivar Identification in Olive Based on RAPD Markers

Abstract: One hundred and thirteen olive (Olea europaea L.) accessions were characterized using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Forty-five polymorphic RAPD markers were obtained enabling us to distinguish 102 different RAPD profiles. The approximate estimation of the probability of obtaining the same RAPD profile for two different trees was between 6.75 × 10 -5 and 4.82 × 10 -14 . A dendrogram was constructed using Ward's minimum variance algorithm based on chi-square distances. This led to a more clear-cut classification of profiles than the classical approach of unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average. Twenty-four clusters of RAPD profiles were shown in Ward's dendrogram. Reliability of the dendrogram structure was checked using variance analysis. RAPD data exhibited an acceptable resolving power for cultivar identification. A combination of three primers was proposed for rapid molecular identification of cultivars in collections and in nurseries. Olive (Olea europaea) is of great socioeconomic importance in the Mediterranean basin. Its cultivation is expanding because of increased demand for olive oil. A great number of olive cultivars (presumed clones) are grown throughout the world. Several hundred supposedly clonal accessions are described in the main countries of the Mediterranean basin. In France about 150 cultivars are registered (Andlauer, 1997). During the history of olive cultivation, as for other tree species, different cultivars may have been given the same name, whereas a cultivar may have been named differently in different countries. Therefore, cultivar and denomination (usual or local name) are ambiguous terms. Vegetative propagation of trees of agronomic interest has produced numerous clones (Zohary and Hopf, 1994). Conse- quently, genetic uniformity within a given cultivar, and thus, within a denomination, is expected. Cultivar identification based on phenological and morphological phenotypes from field or nursery observations may not be adequate to assign cultivar identity due to environmental effects on traits. Moreover, the

An Introduction to Genetic Statistics

Abstract: A reviewer for the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society of England comments \"This is the first book covering in one volume all important topics in genetical statistics.\" Written to provide basic probability ideas in terms of genetic situations, since the theory of genetics is a probability theory; to give a definitive treatment of applications of these ideas to genetic theory; and to describe statistical methods appropriate to the data models that are developed.

Patterns and processes in crop domestication: an historical review and quantitative analysis of 203 global food crops

Abstract: Contents Summary 29 I. Introduction 30 II. Key concepts and definitions 30 III. Methods of review and analysis 35 IV. Trends identified from the review of 203 crops 37 V. Life cycle 38 VI. Ploidy level 40 VII. Reproductive strategies 42 VIII. The domestication syndrome 42 IX. Spatial and temporal trends 42 X. Utilization of plant parts 44 XI. Conclusions 44 Acknowledgements 45 References 45 Summary Domesticated food crops are derived from a phylogenetically diverse assemblage of wild ancestors through artificial selection for different traits. Our understanding of domestication, however, is based upon a subset of well-studied ‘model’ crops, many of them from the Poaceae family. Here, we investigate domestication traits and theories using a broader range of crops. We reviewed domestication information (e.g. center of domestication, plant traits, wild ancestors, domestication dates, domestication traits, early and current uses) for 203 major and minor food crops. Compiled data were used to test classic and contemporary theories in crop domestication. Many typical features of domestication associated with model crops, including changes in ploidy level, loss of shattering, multiple origins, and domestication outside the native range, are less common within this broader dataset. In addition, there are strong spatial and temporal trends in our dataset. The overall time required to domesticate a species has decreased since the earliest domestication events. The frequencies of some domestication syndrome traits (e.g. nonshattering) have decreased over time, while others (e.g. changes to secondary metabolites) have increased. We discuss the influences of the ecological, evolutionary, cultural and technological factors that make domestication a dynamic and ongoing process.

Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archaeological Paradigms

Abstract: Agriculture is the lever with which humans transformed the earth over the last 10,000 years and created new forms of plant and animal species that have forever altered the face of the planet In the last decade, significant technological and methodological advances in both molecular biology and archaeology have revolutionized the study of plant and animal domestication and are reshaping our understanding of the transition from foraging to farming, one of the major turning points in human history This groundbreaking volume for the first time brings together leading archaeologists and biologists working on the domestication of both plants and animals to consider a wide variety of archaeological and genetic approaches to tracing the origin and dispersal of domesticates It provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in this quickly changing field as well as reviews of recent findings on specific crop and livestock species in the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa Offering a unique global perspective, it explores common challenges and potential avenues for future progress in documenting domestication