The GenTree Platform: growth traits and tree-level environmental data in 12 European forest tree species

Background: Progress in the field of evolutionary forest ecology has been hampered by the huge challenge of phenotyping trees across their ranges in their natural environments, and the limitation in high-resolution environmental information. Findings: The GenTree Platform contains phenotypic and environmental data from 4,959 trees from 12 ecologically and economically important European forest tree species: Abies alba Mill. (silver fir), Betula pendula Roth. (silver birch), Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech), Picea abies (L.) H. Karst (Norway spruce), Pinus cembra L. (Swiss stone pine), Pinus halepensis Mill. (Aleppo pine), Pinus nigra Arnold (European black pine), Pinus pinaster Aiton (maritime pine), Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), Populus nigra L. (European black poplar), Taxus baccata L. (English yew), and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. (sessile oak). Phenotypic (height, diameter at breast height, crown size, bark thickness, biomass, straightness, forking, branch angle, fructification), regeneration, environmental in situ measurements (soil depth, vegetation cover, competition indices), and environmental modeling data extracted by using bilinear interpolation accounting for surrounding conditions of each tree (precipitation, temperature, insolation, drought indices) were obtained from trees in 194 sites covering the species’ geographic ranges and reflecting local environmental gradients. Conclusion: The GenTree Platform is a new resource for investigating ecological and evolutionary processes in forest trees. The coherent phenotyping and environmental characterization across 12 species in their European ranges allow for a wide range of analyses from forest ecologists, conservationists, and macro-ecologists. Also, the data here presented can be linked to the GenTree Dendroecological collection, the GenTree Leaf Trait collection, and the GenTree Genomic collection presented elsewhere, which together build the largest evolutionary forest ecology data collection available

Between but not within species variation in the distribution of fitness effects

New mutations provide the raw material for evolution and adaptation. The distribution of fitness effects (DFE) describes the spectrum of effects of new mutations that can occur along a genome, and is therefore of vital interest in evolutionary biology. Recent work has uncovered striking similarities in the DFE between closely related species, prompting us to ask whether there is variation in the DFE among populations of the same species, or among species with different degrees of divergence, i.e., whether there is variation in the DFE at different levels of evolution. Using exome capture data from six tree species sampled across Europe we characterised the DFE for multiple species, and for each species, multiple populations, and investigated the factors potentially influencing the DFE, such as demography, population divergence and genetic background. We find statistical support for there being variation in the DFE at the species level, even among relatively closely related species. However, we find very little difference at the population level, suggesting that differences in the DFE are primarily driven by deep features of species biology, and that evolutionarily recent events, such as demographic changes and local adaptation, have little impact

Paprastosios pušies (Pinus sylvestris L.) DNR polimorfizmo geografinio pasiskirstymo dėsningumai rūšies išplitimo areale

In Lithuania, it is a first genetic study that analyses the DNA polymorphism of Scots pine at the level of cell’s nucleus and organelle’s genomes. In Europe, it is one of the first studies of DNR-based population structure covering in detail the eastern range of Scots pine, where the populations originate from Scotland in the west up to the Amur river estuary in the east. Our material represents a great magnitude of adaptive environments including the core populations at the central part of the species range as well as the marginal populations. The analysis was performed using high resolution and repeatability microsatellite DNA markers.Tai yra pirmas genetinis mokslinis darbas Lietuvoje, nagrinėjantis paprastosios pušies DNR polimorfizmą ląstelės branduolio ir organoidų genomų lygmenyse. Europoje tai vienas iš pirmųjų mokslinių darbų, detaliai analizuojantis DNR polimorfizmą rytinėje paprastosios pušies rūšies arealo dalyje. Darbe lyginamos populiacijos, pradedant Škotija vakaruose, baigiant Amūro upės žiotimis tolimuose rytuose. Taip reprezentuojamas visas adaptacinių aplinkų gradientas: Europa–Uralas–Tolimieji Rytai. Tyrimui naudoti aukštos genetinės rezoliucijos ir patikimo pakartojamumo mikrosatelitinės DNR žymenys.Žemės ūkio akademijaVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Review of research on genetic strucure of Scots pine populations

Straipsnyje yra apžvelgiama paprastosios pušies genetinių ir morfologinių požymių geografinio pasiskirstymo dėsningumai įvairiose rūšies išplitimo arealo dalyse bei metodai genetinei įvairovei įvertinti. Ypatingą vietą užima molekulinių žymenų (DNR) metodai. Molekuliniai žymenys gana sparčiai vystomi, kadangi, palyginus su morfologi¬niais požymiais, jie tiesiogiai gali atskleisti genetinius skirtumus DNR lygmenyje ir yra informatyvūs bet kurioje augalo raidos stadijoje. Vakarinėje pušies arealo dalyje pagal DNR žymenis buvo nustatyta populiacijų genetinė struktūra ir pagal tai parengtos genetinių išteklių išsaugojimo programos ir sėklinis rajonavimas. Straipsnyje pateikiama pušynų genetinės struktūros tyrimų nauda rytiniame pušies areale ir LietuvojeThe article presents an overview of geographical distribution of genetic and morphological traits in various parts of the species range, as well as overview on the methods of assessing the genetic diversity. Particular importance is given to the molecular marker (DNA) techniques. Molecular markers developed quite rapidly, because in comparison with morphological traits, DNA markers may directly reveal the genetic differences at the DNA level and are informative at any stage of the plant development. The DNA marker based studies in the western part of the species range revealed the genetic population structure and the gene conservation programs were prepared as well as breeding zones were delineated. This article presents the planned research with Scots pine DNA markers in the eastern part of the species range and in LithuaniaLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro Miškų institutasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Paprastosios pušies (Pinus sylvestris L.) rytinės arealo dalies ir Lietuvos populiacijų DNR polimorfizmo palyginimas

Lietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro Miškų institutasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Kur slepiasi reliktinių 11000 metų senumo rytinės Baltijos jūros pakrantės paprastosios pušies populiacijų palikuonys?

Straipsnio tęsinys, pradžia Nr. 9Klaipėdos universitetasMiškų ir ekologijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Genetiniai tyrimai atskleidžia vilkų migracijų kelius

Miškų ir ekologijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Where do the rare alleles hide themselves In Scots pine populations?

Climatic change fastens the evolutionary clock for long-lived forest tree populations. Already over a single generation trees face drastic change in the adaptive targets along with new abiotic stresses and pest invasions. Evolutionary, forest trees meet these challenges by accumulating genetic diversity reserves. Rare alleles and genotypes are one of the genetic diversity tools required for species evolution. The problem is that common commercial forest management practice may purge way the rare alleles out of the forests. We also do not really know which genepools accumulate rare alleles in Scots pine and other forest trees. Objective of our study was by the aid of DNA markers assess the effects of forest tending on loss of rare alleles in Scots pine stands. We genotyped 400 trees in a single artificially established stand of Scots pine prior to the pre-commercial thinning at 6 gene based and 6 genomic nSSR loci. Age of the trees was 20 years. We measured the diameter of the genotyped trees and assigned the trees to be eliminated by a simulated thinning based on the diameter value (thinnest trees were removed first). The results showed that up 30 percent thinning intensity no marked loss of rare alleles with frequency below 5% occurs. However, with high thinning intensities loss of rare alleles becomes significant. We conclude that intensive commercial forest management reduces rare allele frequencies. To retain rare alleles a network of conservation forests must be maintainedMiškų ir ekologijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Kur slepiasi reliktinių 11000 metų senumo rytinės Baltijos jūros pakrantės paprastosios pušies populiacijų palikuonys?

Klaipėdos universitetasMiškų ir ekologijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Ištirtas XVII a. Žemaičių vyskupo Juozapo Mykolo Karpio antspaudas

Lietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro filialas Miškų institutasMiškų ir ekologijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta