Responses of radial growth, wood density and fiber traits to planting space in poplar plantations at a lowland site

Poplar is raw material for various panel, paper and fiber products. The 12 sample trees of clone Nanlin-895 from four spacings were destructively harvested after thirteen growing seasons to assess the influence of spacing on radial growth and wood properties. Spacing significantly affected tree-ring width and wood basic density (p < 0.05) but not fiber traits. The highest diameter and wood basic density at breast height (1.3 m) was in 6 m × 6 m and 3 m × 8 m spacings, respectively. However, no significant differences in tree-ring width, wood basic density and fiber traits were observed among the four sampling directions in discs taken at 1.3 m for each spacing. Growth rings from the pith and tree heights had significant effects on wood basic density and fiber anatomical characteristics, highlighting obvious temporal-spatial variations. Pearson correlation analysis showed a significantly negative relationship of tree-ring width to wood basic density, fiber length and fiber width, but a significantly positive relationship to hemicellulose. There was no relationship with cellulose and lignin contents. Based on a comprehensive assessment by the TOPSIS method, the 6 m × 6 m spacing is recommended for producing wood fiber at similar sites in the future.

Variation in a Newly Identified Caprine KRTAP Gene Is Associated with Raw Cashmere Fiber Weight in Longdong Cashmere Goats

Keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) and keratins determine the physical and chemical properties of cashmere fibers as they are the main components of the fibers. It has been reported that ovine KRTAP1-2 affects clean fleece weight, greasy fleece weight and yield in sheep, but the gene has not been described in goats and its effects on fiber traits are unknown. In this study, we identify the keratin-associated protein 1-2 gene (KRTAP1-2) in the goat genome and describe its effect on cashmere fiber traits in 359 Longdong cashmere goats. Six sequence variants (named CAPHI-KRTAP1-2*A to CAPHI-KRTAP1-2*F) were revealed using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis. These sequences have the highest homology with ovine KRTAP1-2 sequences. There were a 60-bp deletion, a 15-bp insertion and five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including two non-synonymous SNPs in the coding sequence. The caprine KRTAP1-2 gene was expressed in the skin tissue, but a signal was not observed for the kidneys, liver, lungs, spleen, heart and longissimus dorsi muscle. Variation in caprine KRTAP1-2 was found to be associated with raw cashmere fiber weight, but not with fiber diameter and length.

Construction of a High-Density Genetic Map via Genome Resequencing and QTL Detection for Key Fiber Traits in Asiatic Cotton

Background: Asiatic cotton (Gossypium arboreum, genome A2) is one of diploid cotton species producing spinnable fibers. However, few studies on the genetic mechanism of key fiber traits of Asiatic cotton have been reported. Sequencing technology advancement and the release of Asiatic cotton genome made it possible to construct a high-density SNP genetic map and further untapped QTL detection.Results: The Asiatic cotton cultivars SXY No.1 and CSLZ were crossed to develop a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population with 189 lines. Whole genome resequencing technology was employed to construct a high-density genetic map that covered 1980.17 cM with an average distance of 0.61 cM between adjacent markers. Based on fiber quality and yield component trait data from three environments, a total of 177 QTL were identified for 8 key fiber traits explaining 5.0-37.4% of the phenotypic variance. Besides, 48 stable QTL, including 15 for upper quartile length (UQL), 18 for fiber fineness (FF), 1 for immature fiber content (IFC), 4 for fiber neps count (FNC), 3 for lint percentage (LP), 7 for seed index (SI), were detected in more than one environment.Conclusions: Using a RIL population and whole genome resequencing strategy, this study presented a high-density genetic map of G. arboreum and identified 48 stable QTL for 6 key fiber traits (UQL, FF, IFC, FNC, LP, SI). Our work laid solid foundation for subsequent fine mapping of QTL for key fiber traits and cloning of controlling genes.