Pollen-mediated gene flow in wild olive

Wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris, aka oleaster) populations are subject to increasing fragmentation and size reduction.

Beghè et al. employ microsatellite markers and apply paternity analysis to investigate pollen flow patterns and fine-scale spatial genetic structure for oleaster populations in regions of undisturbed forest in Southern Spain, a hotspot of wild olive genetic diversity. The heterogeneous spatial genetic structure and relatively high pollen immigration uncovered by this study could contribute to the development of conservation stategies for the preservation of this forest genetic resource.