Salinity adaptation in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera): evidence for selective sweeps at Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) genes

Evidence from 197 Phoenix dactylifera genomes shows selective sweeps across multiple Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway genes, including a major pdSOS1 haplotype at very high frequency in both Eastern and Western subpopulations.

• Why it matters: Rising salinity in North Africa to parts of South Asia makes it important to understand how date palm maintains salt tolerance, and how SOS pathway variation contributes to adaptation.
• What they did: The study analyzed genome-wide variation across 197 date palm genomes, performed allele-specific gene expression in salt-treated roots comparing swept versus ancestral pdSOS1 haplotypes, and used sequence and haplotype analyses to detect introgression and selective sweeps.
• The result: A MITE insertion in a pdSOS1 intron on the swept haplotype (and a similar insertion in pdCIPK8) is unique to date palm among Phoenix species, and haplotype decay plus promoter-region similarity supports East-to-West spread, implying SOS-linked adaptation.

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