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Forests
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Current Applications of Genetics to Forestry
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Current Applications of Genetics to Forestry

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2021) | Viewed by 11366

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Álvaro Soto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
GENFOR Grupo de Investigación en Genética y Fisiología Forestal, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: hybridization; adaptation; abiotic stress; Pinus; Quercus
Dr. Pablo G. Goicoechea

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
NEIKER-BRTA, Forestry Department, Campus Agroalimentario de Arkaute, 01192, Araba, Spain
Interests: population genetics and genomics; adaptation; speciation; Oaks; wood; conifers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Genetics is a rapidly progressing area of biological sciences with increasing economic and ecologic relevance in Forestry and Conservation during the last years. Traditional selection procedures have driven the collection and production of forest reproductive materials, aimed to increased wood and pulp production, for more than a century, obtaining significant improvements, especially when combined with clonal silviculture. However, forestry faces new challenges as traditional breeding economic gains must confront resilience trade-offs and genetic diversity is frequently depauperated or unknown. In addition, conservation activities related to eco-environmental services, habitat protection, conservation, and management of biodiversity (including wildlife and forest plant genetic resources), face important risks due to climate change.

Knowledge of inter- and intraspecific genetic diversity, gene flow, and migrations, as well as genetic breeding focused on production and resistance to abiotic threats, diseases, plagues, and pests, facing global change, will play an increasingly key role in forestry activities and policies in the future. For example, genetic criteria are becoming increasingly important in the identification and certification of forest reproductive materials.

This Special Issue of Forests is aimed an overview of the currently ongoing applications of genetics to forestry, including diversity studies, common garden experiments, advances in the comprehension of the life-term plastic response and genetic/epigenetic adaptations of usually long-living forest tree species, as well and genetic breeding, especially those taking advantage of the most recent techniques (massive sequencing, bioinformatics, new phenotyping and analysis techniques, clonal propagation of elite genotypes, etc.), as well as future prospects in these areas.

Dr. Álvaro Soto
Dr. Pablo G. Goicoechea
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

  • Population genetics and genomics
  • Breeding
  • Bioinformatics
  • Genetic/epigenetic/adaptations
  • Massive genotyping/phenotyping

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2371 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity Revealed by Microsatellites in Genus Carya
by Xinwang Wang, Warren Chatwin, Angelyn Hilton and Keith Kubenka
Forests 2022, 13(2), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020188 - 26 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2568
Abstract
The genus Carya consists of 17 species divided into 3 sections: Carya or the true hickories, Apocarya or the pecan hickories, and Sinocarya or the Asian hickories. Interspecific hybrids exist and have been used in pecan cultivar development. Nuclear and plastid microsatellite or [...] Read more.
The genus Carya consists of 17 species divided into 3 sections: Carya or the true hickories, Apocarya or the pecan hickories, and Sinocarya or the Asian hickories. Interspecific hybrids exist and have been used in pecan cultivar development. Nuclear and plastid microsatellite or SSR markers have been useful in distinguishing species, sections, and populations. They provide evidence for hybridity between species and can confirm heredity within crosses. As more sophisticated methods of genomic evaluation are cooperatively developed for use in pecan breeding and selection, the use of these methods will be supplemented and informed by the lessons provided by microsatellite markers, as interpreted across broad germplasm collections. In this study, over 400 Carya accessions from diverse diploid and tetraploid taxa and their interspecific hybrids, maintained at the USDA National Collection of Genetic Resources for Carya (NCGR-Carya), were analyzed using 14 nuclear and 3 plastid microsatellite markers. Principal coordinate analysis showed clear taxonomic classifications at multiple taxonomic levels along with patterns of interspecific hybridity. Evidence was also found for genetic differences associated with geographic distribution. The results indicate that this group of markers is useful in examining and characterizing populations and hybrids in the genus Carya and may help delineate the composition of a core collection to help characterize the NCGR-Carya repository collection for use in its pecan breeding program. The SSR fingerprints of the inventories of the USDA NCGR-Carya repository can also be used as a reference for identifying unknown pecan trees for growers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Applications of Genetics to Forestry)
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13 pages, 1855 KiB  
Article
Genetic Characterisation of Chestnut Cultivars in Crete
by Mohamad Ali El Chami, Nikolaos Tourvas, George Kazakis, Panagiotis Kalaitzis and Filippos A. Aravanopoulos
Forests 2021, 12(12), 1659; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12121659 - 29 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1862
Abstract
(1) Background and objectives: Cretan chestnut belongs to sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and has been historically associated with the lifestyle of rural communities with great economic importance. However, chestnut genetic resources in Crete have rarely been studied and assessed, while chestnuts [...] Read more.
(1) Background and objectives: Cretan chestnut belongs to sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and has been historically associated with the lifestyle of rural communities with great economic importance. However, chestnut genetic resources in Crete have rarely been studied and assessed, while chestnuts are threatened by several anthropogenic factors. This study assessed the genetic variability of the Cretan sweet chestnut using 59 trees corresponding to the four best-known chestnut cultivars (Strovliani, Rogdiani, Koutsakera and Katharokastania). (2) Materials and Methods: The trees were evaluated using seven simple sequence repeat markers (SSRs): three nSSRs and four EST-SSRs. (3) Results: Genomic SSR results revealed notable genetic diversity in terms of expected heterozygosity, level of polymorphism and effective number of alleles. Moreover, in the four chestnut cultivars, twenty-two unique genotypes were identified, deeming each cultivar to be in fact a multiclonal variety. Genetic differentiation among cultivars was relatively low, though highly significant. Four different groups of synonymies were found: two homonymy groups in Katharokastania and Strovliani, six in Rogdiani and eight in Koutsakera. The cluster analysis and PCoA results reveal two main clusters, one corresponding to the Rogdiani cultivar and the other to Katharokastania, while the other two could not be assigned to a particular group. (4) Conclusions: The null hypothesis of single-clone genotype-to-cultivar correspondence was tested and could not be accepted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Applications of Genetics to Forestry)
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15 pages, 1789 KiB  
Article
Assessing Genetic Variation in Resistance to Pinewood Nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) in Pinus radiata D. Don Half-Sib Families
by María Menéndez-Gutiérrez, Margarita Alonso and Raquel Díaz
Forests 2021, 12(11), 1474; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111474 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1807
Abstract
Full understanding and control of pine wilt disease (PWD) is a work in progress and breeding for disease resistance constitutes an essential management strategy for reducing its impact, as evidenced by advanced breeding programs in countries such as Japan. Since Pinus radiata is [...] Read more.
Full understanding and control of pine wilt disease (PWD) is a work in progress and breeding for disease resistance constitutes an essential management strategy for reducing its impact, as evidenced by advanced breeding programs in countries such as Japan. Since Pinus radiata is one of the most commercially relevant species in northern Spain, we designed a study to assess genetic variation in susceptibility to this pathogen using 44 P. radiata half-sib families from the Galician breeding program. Three Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (pinewood nematode, PWN) inoculation experiments were performed to evaluate disease-related variables, estimate genetic parameters, and study sources of genotype by environment interaction (G × E). We also looked at differences in the constitutive chemical compounds of susceptible and non-susceptible individuals. The results showed great variation in PWN susceptibility, with survival rates for P. radiata families ranging from 0% to 90%. In addition, heritability estimates (hi2 = 0.43, hf2 = 0.72) and genetic gain (>26% selecting 50% of the families) were both moderately high for survival. Significant differences in several constitutive chemical compounds were found between susceptible and non-susceptible seedlings in the two susceptibility groups considered. These results confirm the potential of breeding to obtain P. radiata genotypes that are resistant to pine wilt disease and open possibilities for mitigating its future impact on P. radiata stands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Applications of Genetics to Forestry)
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13 pages, 1256 KiB  
Article
Variation in Platycladus orientalis (Cupressaceae) Reproductive Output and Its Effect on Seed Orchard Crops’ Genetic Diversity
by Si-Qian Jiao, Meiyu Li, Yuan-Jiao Zhu, Shan-Shan Zhou, Shi-Wei Zhao, Zhi-Chao Li, Yu-Tao Bao, Tian-Le Shi, Hui-Jin Zhang, Xiao-Lei Yang, Ji-Jun Zhu, Ilga Porth, Yousry A. El-Kassaby, Shi-Ping Cheng, Yue Li and Jian-Feng Mao
Forests 2021, 12(11), 1429; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111429 - 20 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1803
Abstract
The genetic efficiency of seed orchards is crucial for determining seed crops’ genetic gain and diversity. Platycladus orientalis is a conifer tree of important ecological value in China. Here, we assessed the reproductive output (fertility) variation for 166 clones in a first-generation P. [...] Read more.
The genetic efficiency of seed orchards is crucial for determining seed crops’ genetic gain and diversity. Platycladus orientalis is a conifer tree of important ecological value in China. Here, we assessed the reproductive output (fertility) variation for 166 clones in a first-generation P. orientalis seed orchard over five years and across three years for each gender (female: 2017, 2018, and 2020 and male: 2017, 2019, and 2021). Fertility variation and genetic diversity parameters were estimated for each gender-year combination. The reproductive output (fertility) variation differed among years, provinces, clones nested within provinces, and ramets within clones. We observed asymmetry in the gender reproductive output and parental imbalance and determined their profound effects on the genetic diversity of these seed crops. The maleness index revealed the existence of female-biased or male-biased clones. When seeds from multiple individuals and years were blended, we found an increase in the effective number of parents (Np) and in genetic diversity (GD), and a reduced fertility variation (Ψ) in the seed orchard. When we set the effective number of parents (Np) to 30, the GD of the seed orchard could be maintained at more than 95%. Thus, achieving genetic diversity balance in seed production can be accomplished through monitoring the fertility variation of orchards and through the utilization of the thereby generated information for the advanced generation of seed orchards. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Applications of Genetics to Forestry)
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16 pages, 5414 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome Analysis of Ginkgo biloba L. Leaves across Late Developmental Stages Based on RNA-Seq and Co-Expression Network
by Hailin Liu, Xin Han, Jue Ruan, Lian Xu and Bing He
Forests 2021, 12(3), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12030315 - 8 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2322
Abstract
The final size of plant leaves is strictly controlled by environmental and genetic factors, which coordinate cell expansion and cell cycle activity in space and time; however, the regulatory mechanisms of leaf growth are still poorly understood. Ginkgo biloba is a dioecious species [...] Read more.
The final size of plant leaves is strictly controlled by environmental and genetic factors, which coordinate cell expansion and cell cycle activity in space and time; however, the regulatory mechanisms of leaf growth are still poorly understood. Ginkgo biloba is a dioecious species native to China with medicinally and phylogenetically important characteristics, and its fan-shaped leaves are unique in gymnosperms, while the mechanism of G. biloba leaf development remains unclear. In this study we studied the transcriptome of G. biloba leaves at three developmental stages using high-throughput RNA-seq technology. Approximately 4167 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained, and a total of 12,137 genes were structure optimized together with 732 new genes identified. More than 50 growth-related factors and gene modules were identified based on DEG and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis. These results could remarkably expand the existing transcriptome resources of G. biloba, and provide references for subsequent analysis of ginkgo leaf development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Applications of Genetics to Forestry)
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