Bioactive Potential of Minor Italian Olive Genotypes from Apulia, Sardinia and Abruzzo

: This research focuses on the exploration, recovery and valorization of some minor Italianolive cultivars, about which little information is currently available. Autochthonous and unexploredgermplasm has the potential to face unforeseen changes and thus to improve the sustainability of thewhole olive system. A pattern of nine minor genotypes cultivated in three Italian regions has beenmolecularly fingerprinted with 12 nuclear microsatellites (SSRs), that were able to unequivocallyidentify all genotypes. Moreover, some of the principal phenolic compounds were determined andquantified in monovarietal oils and the expression levels of related genes were also investigatedat different fruit developmental stages. Genotypes differed to the greatest extent in the content ofoleacein (3,4-DHPEA-EDA) and total phenols. Thereby, minor local genotypes, characterized bystable production and resilience in a low-input agro-system, can provide a remarkable contributionto the improvement of the Italian olive production chain and can become very profitable from asocio-economic point of view.