Abstract:The development of reliable methods for the estimation of crown architecture parameters is a key issue for the quantitative evaluation of tree crop adaptation to environment conditions and/or growing system. In the present work, we developed and tested the performance of a method based on low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery for the estimation of olive crown parameters (tree height and crown diameter) in the framework of olive tree breeding programs, both on discontinuous and continuous canopy cropping systems. The workflow involved the image acquisition with consumer-grade cameras on board a UAV and orthomosaic and digital surface model generation using structure-from-motion image reconstruction (without ground point information). Finally, geographical information system analyses and object-based classification were used for the calculation of tree parameters. Results showed a high agreement between remote sensing estimation and field measurements of crown parameters. This was observed both at the individual tree/hedgerow level (relative RMSE from 6% to 20%, depending on the particular case) and also when average values for different genotypes were considered for OPEN ACCESS Remote Sens. 2015, 7 4214 phenotyping purposes (relative RMSE from 3% to 16%), pointing out the interest and applicability of these data and techniques in the selection scheme of breeding programs.

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The primary domestication of olive (Olea europaea L.) in the Levant dates back to the Neolithic period, around 6,000-5,500 BC, as some archeological remains attest.Cultivated olive trees are reproduced clonally, with sexual crosses being the sporadic events that drive the development of new varieties. In order to determine the genomic changes which have occurred in a modern olive cultivar, the genome of the Picual cultivar, one of the most popular olive varieties, was sequenced. Additional 40 cultivated and 10 wild accessions were re-sequenced to elucidate the evolution of the olive genome during the domestication process. It was found that the genome of the 'Picual' cultivar contains 79,667 gene models, of which 78,079 were protein-coding genes and 1,588 were tRNA. Population analyses support two independent events in olive domestication, including an early possible genetic bottleneck. Despite genetic

Olive breeding programmes are focused on selecting for traits as short juvenile period, plant architecture suited for mechanical harvest, or oil characteristics, including fatty acid composition, phenolic, and volatile compounds to suit new markets. Understanding the molecular basis of these characteristics and improving the efficiency of such breeding programmes require the development of genomic information and tools. However, despite its economic relevance, genomic information on olive or closely related species is still scarce. We have applied Sanger and 454 pyrosequencing technologies to generate close to 2 million reads from 12 cDNA libraries obtained from the Picual, Arbequina, and Lechin de Sevilla cultivars and seedlings from a segregating progeny of a Picual × Arbequina cross. The libraries include fruit mesocarp and seeds at three relevant developmental stages, young stems and leaves, active juvenile and adult buds as well as dormant buds, and juvenile and adult roots. The reads were assembled by library or tissue and then assembled together into 81 020 unigenes with an average size of 496 bases. Here, we report their assembly and their functional annotation.