Molecular fingerprinting evidence (ISSR, inter-simple sequence repeats) for a wild status of Olea europaea L. (Oleaceae) in the Eurosiberian North ofthe Iberian Peninsula

Although the olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is one of the best indicators of the Mediterranean region, there exist some isolated populations of this sp ecies in the Eurosiberian North of the Iberian Peninsula. To elucidate the wild or fetal status of these populations, we studied a total of 46 populat ions of the Olea europaea complex. matK sequences and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) variation were analysed to infer relationships among the si x subspecies of the Olea europaea complex and within O. europaea subsp. eur opaea. Based on matK sequences, populations of sspp. europaea (Mediterranea n basin), cerasiformis (Madeira), guanchica (Canary Islands), maroccana (Ag adir Mountains) and laperrinei (the Sahara) form one group separate from su bsp. cuspidata (South and East of Africa, Arabia, Asia). In the parsimony-b ased (Heuristic) and distance-based (UPGMA and Neighbor Joining) analyses o f ISSR variation, populations of the cultivated olive (var. europaea) form two groups which are intermingled with the populations of the wild olive (v ar, sylvestris). The four olive populations from the Eurosiberian North of the Iberian Peninsula included in the analysis are closely related to each Ether and to other Iberian wild populations. This is interpreted as strong evidence for their wild rather than feral status in this area.