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Doctoral thesis prepared by Matthieu Breil:
“Origins and diversity of the Date Palm in al-‘Ulā Oasis, Saudi Arabia: a multidisciplinary approach combining Genomics, Ethnobotany and Archaeobiology”
Original title: Origines et diversité du palmier dattier d’al-‘Ulā Oasis, Arabie saoudite : une approche multidisciplinaire combinant génomique, ethnobotanique et archéobiologie
– Supervisors: Vincent Battesti (UMR 7206 Éco-anthropologie, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle), Muriel Gros-Balthazard (New York University Abud Dahabi, IRD), and Jean-Frédéric Terral (ISEM, Université de Montpellier). Funded by the CNRS & NYUAD project al-‘Ulā DPA Project: Ethnographic, genetic, and morphometric analyses of the date palm agrobiodiversity in al-‘Ulā oasis.
Mainly based at Institut des Sciences de l’Évolution – Montpellier
(ISEM, UMR 5554 Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE), but also at lab. Éco-
anthropologie — Paris (UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Univ. de Paris at Musée de l’Homme).
– PhD enrollment in Gaïa doctoral school of the Université de Montpellier.
– Matthieu Breil’s doctoral contract ended in Sept. 2021, without the thesis being completed.
– Summary:
The goal of the PhD project is to provide a comprehensive estimation of date palm past and
present diversity along with the understanding of its origins and evolution through time. Genomic and seed morphometric analyses of modern and ancient date palms will inform us on
agrobiodiversity: their diversity, origins, provenances and transformations from the beginning of date palm cultivation in al-‘Ulā oasis until today. These results will be interpreted in
light of the ethnobotanical survey performed in parallel.
Beyond the characterization of local germplasm, this project will provide the knowledge that
is fundamental to the sustainable development of the oasis, conservation purposes and
breeding programs.
– See: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/matthieu...
