Arabian Peninsula Date Palms: Genomic Advances, Phytochemical Controversies and the Translational Frontier

Abstract

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivation in the Arabian Peninsula represents a six- millennium agronomic tradition now undergoing rapid genomic and phytochemical reappraisal. This Review synthesises advances across cultivar genomics, salinity tolerance, pest and disease biology, fruit phytochemistry and clinical evidence, while subjecting methodologically contested domains to critical appraisal. Whole-genome resequencing, long-read assemblies and the recent telomere-to-telomere Ajwa reference have clarified domestication pathways, two-subpopulation structure with substantial Phoenix theophrasti introgression into North African cultivars, and the genetic architecture of fruit colour and sugar composition through VIRESCENS and linked invertase loci. Functional validation of candidate genes for sex determination, salinity tolerance and pest resistance nonetheless remains conspicuously absent, and quantitative trait loci for yield, salinity and Bayoud resistance are unmapped. The phytochemical and clinical literature exhibits severe methodological heterogeneity: Folin-Ciocalteu assays overestimate phenolic content in sugar-rich matrices, ester-bound phenolics are systematically missed, underpowered trials propagate through citation amplification, and in vitro anti-cancer findings at milligram-per- millilitre concentrations are extrapolated to human health claims despite plasma polyphenol concentrations remaining two to three orders of magnitude lower. Adequately powered randomised trials with hard endpoints are largely absent. Thirteen high-priority research gaps are delineated, including Yemeni cultivar fingerprinting, salinity quantitative trait locus mapping, Bayoud resistance gene cloning, terpene synthase functional genomics, polyphenol pharmacokinetics and preemptive Bayoud surveillance in the Gulf, defining a translational research agenda for 2026–2035.