MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF COMMON OLIVE VARIETIES IN ISRAEL AND THE WEST-BANK USING RANDOMLY AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) MARKERS

RAPD analysis was performed on the main traditional and introduced var ieties of olive grown in Israel and the West Bank. Primers were identi fied and used in combination to discriminate between different varieti es. Significant biodiversity was demonstrated among 'Nabali' olive tre es growing along the central mountain ridge of the West Bank, suggesti ng that the grouping known as 'Nabali' is actually a mixture of geneti cally distinct variants. On the other hand, RAPD profiles of selected variants of 'Souri', cultivated mainly in the northern mountains of Is rael, revealed a high degree of similarity, indicating that these vari ants represent environmental phenotypes of the same genome. Molecular differences were demonstrated between the 'Nabali' group variants and 'Souri'. Other more recently developed or introduced varieties showed individually distinct RAPD profiles. Possible future developments base d on these data are mentioned.