| Abstract
| - To investigate the contribution of paternal alleles to the DNA content of olive oil, genetic analyses ofolive DNA samples from fruits, leaves, and oil derived from the same tree (cv. Leccino) were carriedout. DNA extracted from maternal tissuesleaves and fleshfrom different fruits showed identicalgenetic profiles using a set of DNA markers. Additional simple sequence repeat (SSR) alleles, notfound in the maternal samples, were amplified in the embryos (stone), and they were also detectedin DNA extracted from the paste obtained by crushing whole fruits and from the oil pressed from thismaterial. These results demonstrate that the DNA profile obtained from olive oil is likely to representa composite profile of the maternal alleles juxtaposed with alleles contributed by various pollen donors.Therefore, care needs to be taken in the interpretation of DNA profiles obtained from DNA extractedfrom oil for resolving provenance and authenticity issues. Keywords: Olive oil; food traceability; DNA markers
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