Nutrition metabolism plays an important role in the alternate bearing of the olive tree (Olea europaea L.)

We carried out genome wide transcriptome analyses in different organs and developmental stages of the olive tree using the NimbleGen Array oligonucleotide probe sets. Cluster analyses of the genes showed that samples collected from different organs could be sorted into separate groups. The nutritional control had a particularly remarkable impact on the alternate bearing for O. europaea, as shown by the differential expressions of transcripts under different developmental phases and organs Six sample sets were prepared for array analyses: i) unripe fruit (UF); ii) ripe fruit (RF); iii) “on-year” mature leaf (November sample, ON-M); iv) “on-year” juvenile leaf (July sample, ON-J); v) “off-year” mature leaf (November samples, OFF-M); and vi) “off-year” juvenile leaf (July sample, OFF-J).