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Genetic Gain, Gene Diversity and Fertility Variation in Forest Populations

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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics and Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 3292

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Kyu Suk Kang

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Bioresources, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Interests: forest genetics; tree breeding; tree genomics; seed orchard genetics

Prof. Dr. Nebi Bilir

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Guest Editor

Forestry Faculty, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Isparta, Turkey
Interests: tree breeding; seed orchards; seed stands; quantitative genetics

Dr. Eduardo Pablo Cappa

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Guest Editor

Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interests: forest tree breeding; mixed models and statistical methods; quantitative genetics and genomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Genetic gain is the improvement in average phenotypic or genetic value due to selection in a forest population over cycles of tree breeding. It can be improved through a shortened cycle period by integrated breeding strategies, meaning the level of increase in the performance achieved annually by artificial selection. Gene diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changed environments. Seed orchards are a tree improvement delivery system between tree breeding and forest regeneration and are leading suppliers of genetically improved seeds worldwide. The genetic gain of seed orchards is increasing along with the advancement of tree-breeding cycles and the uptake of a lot of accumulated knowledge is available as a result. Advancements in genomics have offered an insight into how DNA information controls all forest tree species’ biological functions and how it has the potential to accelerate the breeding cycle. The management of seed orchards should be fine-tuned accordingly to maximize genetic progress, while maintaining a sufficient adaptive diversity in forest stands, and to improve climate resilience. The tree improvement delivery system encompasses all aspects of tree breeding, starting with phenotypic selection and ending with the production of genetically improved seeds and seedlings. Additionally, this process is paramount in determining the genetic gain and gene diversity trade-off to ensure that the maximum genetic gain and gene diversity in future forests are attained. Our goal is to facilitate the exchange of research and practice information on the progress of tree breeding and its improvement. Therefore, we encourage papers to maximize genetic progress while maintaining a sufficient adaptive diversity in forest populations.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

Breeding strategy;
Genetic gain estimation;
Genetics of seed orchards;
Pollen contamination, flowering and fertility variation;
Physiology and technology of seeds and seedlings;
Vegetative propagation techniques, including somatic embryogenesis;
Forest population genetics and tree genomics.

Prof. Dr. Kyu Suk Kang
Prof. Dr. Nebi Bilir
Dr. Eduardo Pablo Cappa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

genetic gain
gene diversity
tree breeding
genomics
fertility variation
background pollination
seed testing, mass propagation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing Breeding Potential and Genetic Conservation: A Comprehensive Approach to Plus-Tree Selection for Tilia amurensis Improvement

by Kyungmi Lee, In-Sik Kim and Wan-Yong Choi

Forests 2023, 14(10), 1972; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14101972 - 28 Sep 2023

Viewed by 876

Abstract

The timber degradation and overexploitation of Tilia amurensis necessitate strategic genetic resource management. This study presents a comprehensive approach to plus-tree selection, focusing on growth evaluation. Drawing from the procedures developed for evergreen oak, it encompasses base population selection, criteria establishment, forest stand investigation, standardized measurements, and tree selection. This study advances the baseline selection methods by emphasizing growth differentiation through age and environmental adjustments. A total of 62 superior individuals were selected from 176 candidates across 20 populations, effectively expanding the geographical boundaries. This growth-centric improved approach offers practical insights for selective breeding and genetic conservation, and addresses the ecological characteristics of the species. This study underscores the need for further exploration of genetic differentiation and biological traits to provide a foundation for refining T. amurensis tree improvement programs. In a broader context, these findings contribute to the understanding and sustainable management of diverse broadleaf forests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Gain, Gene Diversity and Fertility Variation in Forest Populations)

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12 pages, 3507 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Crown Closure on Cone Production and Effective Number of Parents in Natural Stands of Taurus Cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich.)

by Nilufer Yazici and Nebi Bilir

Forests 2023, 14(6), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14061130 - 30 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 871

Abstract

This study was carried out to estimate the effect of crown closure classes (degraded forest, low crown coverage, medium crown coverage, and full crown coverage) and growth characteristics (three heights, diameter at base, diameter at breast height, and crown diameter) on cone production and to estimate fertility variation and its allied parameters in 130-year-old natural populations of Taurus cedar, also called cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani A. Rich.). The effect of biotic (e.g., growth characteristics, crown closure) and abiotic (e.g., light penetration, temperature, humidity, and soil characteristics) factors on cone production, fertility variation, and gene diversity was evaluated in two consecutive years of Taurus cedar. The factors, viz., altitude, temperature, aspect, and rainfall, varied, while some of them could be managed by cultural operations such as management of the crown and stand density. The impact of crown closure on cone production, fertility variation, and related parameters were observed in Taurus cedar’s natural populations sampled from southern Turkey. Maximum cone productions of 29 and 40/tree were recorded with full crown closure in two consecutive years, due to significant differences among individuals within crown closure class. For instance, cone productions were between 10 and 67 in the full crown closure of the first year. The sibling coefficient, which is a measure of the fertility variation in a stand, was the highest (1.16) for the full crown closure in the first (meaning 86% fertile trees) and the second years (1.55, 65%), while it was the lowest for the medium crown closure (1.09, 92%) in both years. Gene diversity decreased from a degraded patch (0.987) to that with full crown closure (0.984). Results of variance analysis showed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) difference between crown closure classes for cone production within the second year and between years. Significant positive (p ≤ 0.05) correlations were noted between years for cone production (r = 0.22) and between cone production and crown closure in the first and second years (r = 0.29). However, growth characteristics had no effect on cone productions in individual crown closure classes, while there were significant (p ≤ 0.05) correlations between the diameter at breast height and cone production for both years (r = 0.15 and 0.17) in pooled populations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Gain, Gene Diversity and Fertility Variation in Forest Populations)

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Review

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14 pages, 3626 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fertility Variation and Gene Diversity in Forest Populations

by Kyu-Suk Kang, Nebi Bilir, Koeun Jeon and Ye-Ji Kim

Forests 2023, 14(11), 2172; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14112172 - 31 Oct 2023

Viewed by 833

Abstract

Fertility variation, defined as a difference in the ability to create progeny (i.e., reproductive success) among individuals, was reviewed using the related available theoretical and practical literature in an attempt to contribute to and improve future studies on the subject. Fertility variation is a useful guide for various purposes such as gene conservation, seed production programs, forest genetic resource (i.e., seed sources) management, other forestry practices (e.g., regeneration), and evolutional and physiological studies. Many papers and proceedings have been published, including both theoretical and practical approaches, on how fertility variation has improved in the last two decades. Large variations in fertility were widely reported among populations within species and among species. We reviewed the literature and combined our diverse knowledge to examine fertility variations and their linkage parameters. Fertility variations and their related parameters (e.g., gene diversity, status number, effective parent number, parental–balance curves) estimated based on reproductive characteristics have been studied for many years using easy and cheap surveys that are used for different purposes in forest sciences. Their importance is increasing and their use is becoming more widespread because of these advantages, leading to improvements in research papers. While many research papers have recently been published on fertility variations and linkage parameters, a review paper has not been published to date. Therefore, a review paper is needed based on a literature survey and unpublished experience, as a guide for future studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Gain, Gene Diversity and Fertility Variation in Forest Populations)

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