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Background Wild olive ( Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata ), one of the six subspecies of the olive complex worldwide, is an ecologically and economically important tree in the mountains of Oman. It is vulnerable to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Information on its genetic diversity is needed to support the conservation of wild olive in Oman. Results A dual-genomic approach was employed, utilizing nuclear SNPs derived from Angiosperms353 target enrichment and plastid SNPs (cpSNPs) recovered from off-target reads. These markers were used to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of 48 wild olive accessions from the Dhofar, Eastern Hajar, and Western Hajar mountains of Oman. STRUCTURE, PCA, and DAPC analyses consistently revealed a clear north–south genetic split, with Dhofar populations forming a distinct and genetically isolated lineage, while populations from the Eastern and Western Hajar Mountains showed evidence of admixture and genetic connectivity. Five plastid haplotypes were identified, further supporting this phylogeographic structure. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that most genetic variation occurred within populations (71.86%) rather than among populations (28.14%; ΦST = 0.2814), while regional divergence between northern and southern populations was higher (ΦRT = 0.528). The overall fixation index (F ST = 0.3093) indicated moderate to high genetic differentiation, with the strongest differentiation observed between northern and southern populations. Conclusions These findings highlight the genetic uniqueness and isolation of Dhofar populations, which should be considered a conservation priority. The results provide essential guidance for in situ and ex situ conservation strategies, including germplasm preservation and habitat restoration.
Jabri et al. (Wed,) studied this question.