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Forests
Special Issues
Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Plasticity in Trees
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Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Plasticity in Trees

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 May 2023) | Viewed by 4751

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jordi Voltas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Joint Research Unit CTFC-Agrotecnio, Universitat de Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Interests: genotype-by-environment interaction; phenotypic plasticity; drought tolerance; plant adaptation; phenotypic integration
Dr. Rafael Zas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Misión Biológica de Galicia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MBG-CSIC), Apdo. 28, E-36080 Pontevedra, Spain
Interests: quantitative forest genetics; adaptive variation; phenotypic plasticity; pathogen and pest resistance; plant-insect interactions; life-history trade-offs; maternal effects; mediterranean pines
Dr. José M. Climent Maldonado

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forest Research Centre, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (CSIC-INIA), Ctra. A Coruña km 7.5, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: life history evolution in pines; forest tree breeding; conservation of genetic resources; fire tolerance and resilience of forest tree species; phenotypic plasticity and phenotypic integration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The contribution of genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity in modulating functional trait variability is key for the capacity of forest trees to thrive in complex environments. However, the relative importance of genetic change and plasticity underlying intraspecific variability remains insufficiently studied. Common garden experiments and reciprocal transplants, among others, are useful to quantify such processes and, consequently, to evaluate the adaptive potential of a species when entrained by novel combinations of temperature and precipitation under global change. In this Special Issue, we invite studies assessing the adaptive structure of forest tree species typical of terrestrial biomes (from tropical to boreal) through genetic experiments involving functional traits related to growth, reproduction and resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors.

In particular, we encourage studies enquiring into:

  • The adaptive relevance of intra- versus interpopulation variability and plasticity of fitness-related traits.
  • The interplay between demographic (neutral) effects and historical climate modulating genetic changes and plasticity of fitness-related traits.
  • The multi-trait, multi-environment characterization of quantitative intraspecific variation and trade-offs.
  • The adaptive relevance of population differentiation in endemic species as opposed to widely distributed taxa.
  • The range-wide (i.e., comprehensive) structure of genotypic variation and genotype-by-environment interactions for key functional traits.
  • The inter-relationships (i.e., trade-offs) between the variation and plasticity of different life-history and functional traits.

Prof. Dr. Jordi Voltas
Dr. Rafael Zas
Dr. José M. Climent Maldonado
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

  • common garden
  • genotype by environment interaction
  • fitness
  • functional traits
  • intraspecific variation
  • life-history
  • phenotypic integration
  • phenotypic plasticity
  • trade-offs

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2683 KiB  
Article
Studying the Genetic and the Epigenetic Diversity of the Endangered Species Juniperus drupacea Labill. towards Safeguarding Its Conservation in Greece
by Evangelia V. Avramidou, Evangelia Korakaki, Ermioni Malliarou and Stefanos Boutsios
Forests 2023, 14(6), 1271; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f14061271 - 20 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 900
Abstract
Juniperus drupacea Labill is a unique representative tree which, nowadays, has limited geographical range. In Greece, it exists only in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese, and it is labeled as endangered according to the IUCN in Europe. In the light of climatic [...] Read more.
Juniperus drupacea Labill is a unique representative tree which, nowadays, has limited geographical range. In Greece, it exists only in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese, and it is labeled as endangered according to the IUCN in Europe. In the light of climatic changes, a conservation plan which will secure its adaptation and resilience is important. Knowledge of the genetic and the epigenetic diversity of J. drupacea in Greece can establish a pledge for sustainability. In this study, genetic diversity with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers and epigenetic diversity assessed with methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) were used for eleven subpopulations of the species. Simultaneously, first assessment between midday water potential (Ψmd) and epigenetic diversity was calculated in order to determine drought response of the species. Results showed that genetic diversity was higher than epigenetic diversity and no subpopulation differentiation was observed. No significant correlations were found between geographic, epigenetic, and genetic diversity, indicating that the genetic diversity is uncoupled from epigenetic diversity. A significant negative correlation between epigenetic Shannon index and Ψmd was found. The holistic research of genetic and epigenetic diversity paves the way for an effective conservation plan for the species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Plasticity in Trees)
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14 pages, 2134 KiB  
Article
Genetic Evaluation in Natural Populations of the Threatened Conifer Amentotaxus argotaenia (Hance) Pilg. (Taxaceae) Using Microsatellites
by Thanh Trung Nguyen, Thuy Thi La, Xuyen Thi Do, Hai Van Do, Duc Minh Nguyen, Hong Phan Lan Nguyen, Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy, Long Ke Phan and Tam Minh Nguyen
Forests 2022, 13(9), 1452; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f13091452 - 09 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1167
Abstract
Amentotaxus argotaenia (Hance) Pilg. is a threatened conifer with a wide distribution range from North to Central Vietnam due to habitat loss and over-exploitation. To provide information for its conservation and sustainable management, in the present study, genetic diversity and population genetic structure [...] Read more.
Amentotaxus argotaenia (Hance) Pilg. is a threatened conifer with a wide distribution range from North to Central Vietnam due to habitat loss and over-exploitation. To provide information for its conservation and sustainable management, in the present study, genetic diversity and population genetic structure for 200 trees from eight populations, representing the natural distribution range of this species were estimated using nuclear microsatellites. The results showed a moderate genetic diversity of A. argotaenia (HO = 0.331, HE = 0.358). Significant heterozygosity deficits were detected in three populations in the Northeast area. Genetic differentiation was low in the same distribution area and high in different areas. However, the gene flow among the studied populations was relatively high (Nm = 1.17). Habitat fragmentation, geographical distance and high mountain range can be the major factors that reduce gene exchange between different areas. Various clustering analyses distinguished three major genetic groups related to the three distribution areas of this species in Vietnam. Based on the study results, we propose that some populations could be prioritized for in situ conservation due to their high genetic diversity with high allelic richness or private alleles, meanwhile other populations should be collected for ex situ conservation as genetic resources in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Plasticity in Trees)
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12 pages, 1871 KiB  
Article
Heritable and Climatic Sources of Variation in Juvenile Tree Growth in an Austrian Common Garden Experiment of Central European Norway Spruce Populations
by Laura Morales and Kelly Swarts
Forests 2022, 13(5), 809; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f13050809 - 22 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1857
Abstract
We leveraged publicly available data on juvenile tree height of 299 Central European Norway spruce populations grown in a common garden experiment across 24 diverse trial locations in Austria and weather data from the trial locations and population provenances to parse the heritable [...] Read more.
We leveraged publicly available data on juvenile tree height of 299 Central European Norway spruce populations grown in a common garden experiment across 24 diverse trial locations in Austria and weather data from the trial locations and population provenances to parse the heritable and climatic components of juvenile tree height variation. Principal component analysis of geospatial and weather variables demonstrated high interannual variation among trial environments, largely driven by differences in precipitation, and separation of population provenances based on altitude, temperature, and snowfall. Tree height was highly heritable and modeling the covariance between populations and trial environments based on climatic data led to more stable estimation of heritability and population × environment variance. Climatic similarity among population provenances was highly predictive of population × environment estimates for tree height. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Plasticity in Trees)
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