scholarly journals Genotypic variation rather than ploidy level shapes trait expression in a foundation tree species under drought stress and defoliation

Author(s):  
Michael Eisenring ◽  
Richard Lindroth ◽  
Noreen Giezendanner ◽  
Karen Mock ◽  
Eric Kruger

With advancing climate change, tree survival increasingly depends on mechanisms that facilitate coping with multiple environmental stressors. At the population level, genetic diversity is a key determinant of a tree species’ capacity to deal with stress. However, little is known about the relative relevance of the different components of genetic diversity for shaping tree stress responses. We compared how two components of genetic diversity, genotypic variation and ploidy level, shape growth, phytochemical, and physiological traits of Populus tremuloides, under environmental stress. In two field experiments we exposed eight diploid and eight triploid aspen genotypes to individual and interactive drought stress and defoliation treatments. We found that: 1) Genotypic differences were critical for explaining variation of most of functional traits and their responses to stress. 2) Ploidy levels generally played a subordinate role for shaping traits, as they were typically obscured by genotypic differences. 3) As an exception to the second finding, we found that triploid trees expressed higher levels of foliar defenses, photosynthesis, and rubisco activity under well-watered conditions, and displayed greater drought resilience than diploids. This research demonstrates that the simultaneous study of multiple sources of genetic diversity is important for understanding how trees will respond to environmental change.

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11953
Author(s):  
Jing-Xue Zhang ◽  
Miaoli Wang ◽  
Jibiao Fan ◽  
Zhi-Peng Guo ◽  
Yongzhuo Guan ◽  
...  

Background Environmental variation related to ecological habitat is the main driver of plant adaptive divergence. Longitude plays an important role in the formation of plant population structure, indicating that environmental differentiation can significantly shape population structure. Methods Genetic diversity and population genetic structure were estimated using 105 expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) loci. A total of 249 C. dactylon (L.) Pers. (common bermudagrass) individuals were sampled from 13 geographic sites along the longitude (105°57′34″–119°27′06″E). Results There was no obvious linear trend of intra-population genetic diversity along longitude and the intra-population genetic diversity was not related to climate in this study. Low gene flow (Nm = 0.7701) meant a rich genetic differentiation among populations of C. dactylon along longitude gradients. Significantly positive Mantel correlation (r = 0.438, P = 0.001) was found between genetic distance and geographical interval while no significant partial Mantel correlation after controlling the effect of mean annual precipitation, which indicated geographic distance correlated with mean annual precipitation affect genetic distance. The genetic diversity of C. dactylon with higher ploidy level was higher than that with lower ploidy level and groups of individuals with higher ploidy level were separated further away by genetic distance from the lower ploidy levels. Understanding the different genetic bases of local adaptation comparatively between latitude and longitude is one of the core findings in the adaptive evolution of plants.


Author(s):  
Gebru Eyasu Siyum ◽  
Tuemay Tassew ◽  
Abadi Gidey

Tree planting on degraded lands play a key role in forest rehabilitation processes through afforestation and/or reforestation. Moisture harvesting structures (MHSs) has significant impact on seedling survivals at degraded lands. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impact of water harvesting techniques on seedling survival and growth performance of trees. Field experiments were conducted for two rainy seasons in southern Tigray, Atsela watershed. The experimental design followed was the split plot design. The MHSs as main plot used were eye-brow basins (EBs), micro trench (MTs), improved pit (IPs) and as control normal pit (NPs). The tree species grown as subplots were Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Grevillea robusta, Olea europaea and Cupressus lusitanica. The four tree species were planted by using seedlings. The tree survival rate, height, crown width (CW) and root collar diameter (RCD) of the four tree species were measured every six months after transplanting. The result shows that MHSs were significant in tree seedling height, CW and RCD but not in tree survival rate. Tree seedling height and CW grown in EBs were significantly higher than those grown in MTs, IPs and NP (P≤0.05). RCD of tree seedling was higher when grown in EBs than NP (control) (P≤0.05). The interaction of tree species seedlings and MHSs shows that those seedlings grown on MHSs were significantly thicker, taller and more survived than those grown on the NPs (control) (P≤0.05). So based on the experiments, it is concluded that MHSs particularly the eyebrow basin was considered as the most appropriate planting pit. Therefore, further demonstration of eyebrow basin tree planting should be carried out.


AoB Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akimi Wakui ◽  
Gaku Kudo

Abstract Although plant species originated from Arctic regions commonly grow in alpine habitats at mid-latitudes, some populations of these species exist also in some specific habitats below the treeline. Local populations at lower elevations may have different origins, ploidy levels, mating systems and/or morphological traits from alpine populations, but comparative studies between alpine and low-elevation populations are scarce. We aimed to reveal the ecological and genetic differentiations between higher and lower populations of Vaccinium vitis-idaea in Hokkaido, northern Japan by comparing 22 populations growing in diverse environments.We analyzed the ploidy level of individual populations using flow-cytometry. Genetic differentiation among populations, and genetic diversity within populations were calculated using microsatellite markers. Fruit and seed production were recorded under natural conditions, and a pollination experiment was conducted to reveal the variations in mating system across populations. Furthermore, we compared shoot growth and leaf characteristics among populations.Most of the low-elevation populations were tetraploid, whereas all but one of the alpine populations were diploid. Tetraploid populations were clearly differentiated from diploid populations. Some tetraploid populations formed huge clonal patches but genetic diversity was higher in tetraploids than diploids. Alpine diploids were self-incompatible and produced more seeds per fruit than tetraploid populations. In contrast, tetraploids showed high self-compatibility. Leaf size and foliar production were greater in tetraploid populations.Our results indicate that the genetic compositions of low-elevation tetraploid populations are different from those of alpine diploid populations. Most populations at lower elevations contained unique ecotypes suited to persistence in isolated situations. Local, low-elevation populations of typical alpine species maintain ecologically and genetically specific characteristics and could be valuable in terms of evolutionary and conservation biology. The present study demonstrates the biological importance of small and isolated populations at the edges of species distribution.


1977 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald H. Marx

The natural occurrence of Pisolithus tinctorius has been confirmed in 33 countries of the world and in 38 states in the United States. This ectomycorrhizal fungus is found associated with various tree species in nurseries, urban areas, orchards, forests, and strip-mined spoils. Experiments have proved that this fungal symbiont forms ectomycorrhizae with Abies procera, Betula pendula, Carya illinoensis, 11 species of Eucalyptus, 30 species of Pinus, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii, 2 species of Quercus, and Tsuga heterophylla. Pisolithus has also been reported growing under natural conditions in association with three additional species of Betula, two species of Eucalyptus, nine species of Pinus, and eight species of Quercus, Populus tremuloides, Pseudotsuga grandidenta, and Salix humilis.This fungal symbiont has great potential in forestation efforts because of (1) the availability of practical techniques for artificially introducing it into nursery soils; (2) its ability to improve tree survival and growth in the nursery and the field; (3) its near worldwide distribution on a variety of sites; and (4) its broad host range encompassing many of the world's most important tree species.


2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (7) ◽  
pp. 670 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. James ◽  
R. J. Lawn ◽  
M. Cooper

As part of a project exploring the potential for using leaf physiological traits to improve drought tolerance in soybean, studies were conducted to explore whether epidermal conductance (ge), osmotic potential (π), and relative water content (RWC) influenced turgor maintenance and ultimately the survival of droughted plants. In a glasshouse study, plants of 8 soybean genotypes that showed different expression of the traits were grown in well watered soil-filled beds for 21 days and then exposed to terminal water deficit stress. The trends in each trait were then monitored periodically until plant death. Genotypic differences were observed in the rate of decline in RWC as the soil dried, in the temporal patterns of change in ge and π, in the duration of survival after watering ceased, and in the critical relative water content (RWCC) at which plants died. In general, ge became smaller and π became more negative as RWC declined and plants acclimated to the increasing stress. Genotypic differences in ge remained broadly consistent as RWC declined. In contrast, the genotypic rankings for π in stressed plants were poorly correlated with those for well watered plants, indicating differential genotypic capacity for osmotic adjustment (OA) in response to stress. Survival times among genotypes after stress commenced ranged from 27 to 41 days, while RWCC ranged from 49% down to 41%. The differences in survival time among the genotypes were able to be explained by genotypic differences in the rate of decline in RWC and in the RWCC, using a multiple linear regression relationship (R 2 = 0.94**). In turn, genotypic differences in the rate of decline in RWC were positively correlated (r = 0.75*) with ge at 70% RWC, and with OA over the drying period (r = 0.98**). In a second study in a controlled environment facility, leaf area retention at 90% soil water extraction was greatest in the one genotype that combined low ge, high OA, and low RWCC. Overall, the responses from the two studies were consistent with the hypothesis that turgor maintenance and ultimately leaf and plant survival of different genotypes during advanced stages of drought stress are enhanced by low ge, high OA capacity, and low RWCC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Tom De Swaef ◽  
Wouter H. Maes ◽  
Jonas Aper ◽  
Joost Baert ◽  
Mathias Cougnon ◽  
...  

The persistence and productivity of forage grasses, important sources for feed production, are threatened by climate change-induced drought. Breeding programs are in search of new drought tolerant forage grass varieties, but those programs still rely on time-consuming and less consistent visual scoring by breeders. In this study, we evaluate whether Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing can complement or replace this visual breeder score. A field experiment was set up to test the drought tolerance of genotypes from three common forage types of two different species: Festuca arundinacea, diploid Lolium perenne and tetraploid Lolium perenne. Drought stress was imposed by using mobile rainout shelters. UAV flights with RGB and thermal sensors were conducted at five time points during the experiment. Visual-based indices from different colour spaces were selected that were closely correlated to the breeder score. Furthermore, several indices, in particular H and NDLab, from the HSV (Hue Saturation Value) and CIELab (Commission Internationale de l’éclairage) colour space, respectively, displayed a broad-sense heritability that was as high or higher than the visual breeder score, making these indices highly suited for high-throughput field phenotyping applications that can complement or even replace the breeder score. The thermal-based Crop Water Stress Index CWSI provided complementary information to visual-based indices, enabling the analysis of differences in ecophysiological mechanisms for coping with reduced water availability between species and ploidy levels. All species/types displayed variation in drought stress tolerance, which confirms that there is sufficient variation for selection within these groups of grasses. Our results confirmed the better drought tolerance potential of Festuca arundinacea, but also showed which Lolium perenne genotypes are more tolerant.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Hu ◽  
Robert D Guy ◽  
Raju Y Soolanayakanahally

Abstract Plants acquire multiple resources from the environment and may need to adjust and/or balance their respective resource-use efficiencies to maximize grow and survival, in a locally adaptive manner. In this study, tissue and whole-plant carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) and C/N ratios provided long-term measures of use efficiencies for water (WUE) and nitrogen (NUE), and a nitrogen isotopic composition (δ15N) based mass balance model was used to estimate traits related to N uptake and assimilation in heart-leaved willow (Salix eriocephala Michx.). In an initial common garden experiment consisting of 34 populations, we found population level variation in δ13C, C/N and δ15N, indicating different patterns in WUE, NUE and N uptake and assimilation. Although there was no relationship between foliar δ13C and C/N ratios among populations, there was a significant negative correlation between these measures across all individuals, implying a genetic and/or plastic trade-off between WUE and NUE not associated with local adaptation. To eliminate any environmental effect, we grew a subset of 21 genotypes hydroponically with nitrate as the sole N-source, and detected significant variation in δ13C, δ15N and C/N ratios. Variation in δ15N was mainly due to genotypic differences in the nitrate efflux/influx ratio (E/I) at the root. Both experiments suggested clinal variation in δ15N (and thus N uptake efficiency) with latitude of origin, which may relate to water availability and could contribute to global patterns in ecosystem δ15N. There was a tendency for genotypes with higher WUE to come from more water replete sites with shorter and cooler growing seasons. We found that δ13C, C/N, and E/I were not inter-correlated, suggesting that selection of growth, WUE, NUE and N uptake efficiency can occur without trade-off.


Euphytica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Eifler ◽  
Jürgen Enno Wick ◽  
Bernd Steingrobe ◽  
Christian Möllers

AbstractPhytic acid is the major organic phosphorus storage compound in rapeseed. Following oil extraction, the defatted meal is used in feed mixtures for livestock. However, monogastric pigs and chickens can only poorly metabolize phytate. Hence, their excrements are rich in phosphorus (P), which when applied as manure may lead to eutrophication of surface waters. The aim of the present study was to analyze the genetic variation for total and organic P concentration (i.e. mainly phytate) in rapeseed and to compare the results with soybean. Two sets of rapeseed material were tested in field experiments in different environments with varying soil P levels and harvested seeds were used for seed quality analysis. Results revealed significant genotypic differences in total seed P concentration, which ranged from 0.47 to 0.94%. Depending on the experiment, the heritability for total P concentration ranged from 52 to 93%. The organic P portion of total P concentration was above 90% for current rapeseed hybrids. In both sets, there was a significant positive correlation between seed protein and P concentration. A NIRS calibration for total P concentration in intact seeds showed in cross validation a standard error of 0.05% and a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.83. Total P concentration of soybean seeds and meal was between 0.55 and 0.65%, and around 1.1% for rapeseed meal. Rapeseed meal had a twofold higher ratio of total P to nitrogen concentration as compared to soybean which could be considered adverse when the meal is used for feeding livestock.


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