They study the genetics of the olive tree to fight against the verticillium wilt fungus

Research conducted within the European project Soil O-live, coordinated by the University of Jaén (UJA), has made it possible to determine the relationship between the olive tree's genetics and its microbiome with greater or lesser tolerance to the verticillium fungus, one of the main pests affecting the olive sector. The study, published in the journal Microbiome, suggests that the microbial community residing in an olive tree influences the characteristics of the plant and determines aspects such as resistance to environmental stress and to diseases and pests. The article states that remodeling this microbiome is a promising avenue for managing diseases in crops. To gain new insights into these relationships, the researchers set out to identify key genes of the host and microbes linked to tolerance to Verticilium. In this vein, the team compared the microbiomes of the roots of olive trees susceptible to and resistant against the disease, finding that certain bacterial and fungal ...