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We report the N-glycosylation pattern of a Sf9 insect cell derived recombinant spike proteins being developed as candidate vaccine antigens for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) (Sanofi). The method has been optimised to produce peptides with single, isolated glycosylation sites using multiple protease digests. The development and use of glycopeptide libraries from previous developmental phases allowed for faster analysis than processing data sets from individual batches from first principles.Purified spike proteins were reduced, alkylated, and digested with proteolytic enzymes. Three different protease digests were utilised to generate peptides with isolated glycosylation sites. The glycopeptides were then analysed using a Waters Q-TOF while using a data dependent acquisition (DDA) mass spectrometry experiment. Glycopeptide mapping data processing and glycan classification was performed using Genedata Expressionist via a specialised workflow that used libraries of previously detected glycopeptides to greatly reduce processing time.Two different spike proteins from 6 manufacturers were analysed. There was a strong similarity at each site across batches and manufacturers. The majority of the glycans present were of the truncated class, although at sites N61, N234, and N717/714 high mannose structures were dominant and at N1173/1170 aglycosylation was dominant for both variant proteins. A comparison was performed on a commercially available spike protein and our results were found to be similar to earlier reports.Our data clearly shows that the overall glycosylation pattern of both spike protein variants was highly similar from batch-to-batch, and between materials produced at different manufacturing facilities. The use of our glycopeptide libraries greatly expedited the generation of site-specific glycan occupancy data for a large glycoprotein. We compared our method with previously obtained data from a commercially available insect cell derived spike protein and the results were comparable to published findings.

This paper first analyses the current exchange of optical and calorimetric data. A large amount of manual work is necessary for manufacturers to supply numerous data formats and for planners to access product data, to check the quality and to use it for building performance simulation. Therefore, this paper proposes a system of databases which use the same specification for their application programming interfaces. This enables fast and cost-efficient building performance simulations and makes it easy for manufacturers to manage their product data. The International Glazing and Shading Database and the European Solar-Shading Database will use the new interface to offer high-quality data for many glazing and shading components.

Australia’s 2019–2020 ‘Black Summer’ bushfires burnt more than 8 million hectares of vegetation across the south-east of the continent, an event unprecedented in the last 200 years. Here we report the impacts of these fires on vascular plant species and communities. Using a map of the fires generated from remotely sensed hotspot data we show that, across 11 Australian bioregions, 17 major native vegetation groups were severely burnt, and up to 67–83% of globally significant rainforests and eucalypt forests and woodlands. Based on geocoded species occurrence data we estimate that >50% of known populations or ranges of 816 native vascular plant species were burnt during the fires, including more than 100 species with geographic ranges more than 500 km across. Habitat and fire response data show that most affected species are resilient to fire. However, the massive biogeographic, demographic and taxonomic breadth of impacts of the 2019–2020 fires may leave some ecosystems, particularly relictual Gondwanan rainforests, susceptible to regeneration failure and landscape-scale decline., Fires triggered by climate change threaten plant diversity in many biomes. Here the authors investigate how the catastrophic fires of 2019–2020 affected the vascular flora of SE Australia. They report that 816 species were highly impacted, including taxa of biogeographic and conservation interest.

Allocasuarina verticillata (Lam.) L.A.S. Johnson is a widespread species in south-eastern Australia providing vegetation cover, protecting fragile soils and providing food for birds. Understanding the effects of gene flow on the recruitment patterns, genetic differentiation and structure of fragmented populations provides fundamental guidelines to underpin plant conservation strategies and activities. In this study, four spatially disjunct populations of A. verticillata were sampled to explore the effects of population size, reproductive patterns and pollen and seed dispersal on among-population genetic diversity, genetic differentiation and structure, using field survey and microsatellite marker techniques. It was found that stands of A. verticillata were predominantly sexually reproductive, but asexual reproduction through root suckering was an additional mode of reproduction. The reproductive success of A. verticillata is positively correlated with the effective population size rather than actual population size. The reduction in effective population size and increment of spatial isolation resulted in lower genetic diversity and higher inbreeding coefficient of progenies. Moderate pairwise genetic differentiation and weak genetic structure were identified. The results suggest that exogenous, wind-mediated pollen flow provides some maintenance of genetic diversity in the isolated stands. Seed dispersal appears mainly to be over short distances (i.e., within populations), but the infrequent transport of seeds between disjunct locations cannot be ruled out as another factor that may help maintain genetic diversity.

Santalum yasi (yasi) was first exploited in Fiji in the early 1800s and has been harvested periodically but heavily ever since. Yasi produces one of the most valuable sandalwoods, being high in α- ...

Santalum yasi is a high-value hemiparasitic tree endemic to Fiji, Niue and Tonga. It has been overexploited for its oil-yielding heartwood and is now threatened. Remaining stands lack genetic diver...

Santalum yasi, a sandalwood native to Fiji and Tonga, is a tree crop of significant economic potential for these countries. Development of a plantation industry underpinned by a breeding program is...

Increasing [CO2] may influence commercial crop and timber yield. While selection of genotypes sensitive to elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) appears possible in agricultural crops, there is limited evidence for genotype-by-CO2 (G × CO2) interactions in commercial tree species. We examined [CO2] responsiveness in 124 open-pollinated Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus (E. globulus) families with the aim of assessing whether G × CO2 interactions are detectable in seedlings for early-age screening. Plants were grown in ambient (a[CO2]; ~ 405 μmol mol−1) and e[CO2] (640 μmol mol−1) and harvested 25 days after germination. Total, shoot, and root dry weights were determined for each plant. Carbon isotopic discrimination against 13C (Δ13C) was determined at the family level. We observed highly significant (p 2 for each mass trait. The main effects from the mixed-model output ([CO2] and individual-tree effects) were significant for all traits. However, [CO2]-by-individual tree interactions were non-significant for all traits, indicating little G × CO2 interaction. A secondary aim was to examine the correlation between greenhouse and mature-age growth from breeding trials that use common families conducted under ambient [CO2]. These correlations were non-significant, suggesting early growth is not necessarily indicative of later-age responses. Our results suggest that while early growth of E. globulus is enhanced under e[CO2], genotypes respond relatively uniformly to e[CO2] and little opportunity exists for seedling-based selection at the population level based upon the response of plants during the first weeks of growth.

Hybridization is increasingly recognized as an integral part of the dynamics of species range expansion and contraction. Thus, it is important to understand the reproductive barriers between co-occurring species. Extending previous studies that argued that the rare Eucalyptus risdonii was expanding into the range of the surrounding E. amygdalina by both seed and pollen dispersal, we here investigate the long-term fitness of both species and their hybrids and whether expansion is continuing.We assessed the survival of phenotypes representing a continuum between the two pure species in a natural hybrid swarm after 29 years, along with seedling recruitment. The performance of pure species as well as of artificial and natural hybrids was also assessed over 28 years in a common garden trial.In the hybrid zone, E. amygdalina adults showed greater mortality than E. risdonii, and the current seedling cohort is still dominated by E. risdonii phenotypes. Morphologically intermediate individuals appeared to be the least fit. Similar results were observed after growing artificial first-generation and natural hybrids alongside pure species families in a common garden trial. Here, the survival, reproduction, health and growth of the intermediate hybrids were significantly less than those of either pure species, consistent with hybrid inferiority, although this did not manifest until later reproductive ages. Among the variable progeny of natural intermediate hybrids, the most E. risdonii-like phenotypes were the most fit.This study contributes to the increasing number of reports of hybrid inferiority in Eucalyptus, suggesting that post-zygotic barriers contribute to the maintenance of species integrity even between closely related species. However, with fitness rapidly recovered following backcrossing, it is argued that hybridization can still be an important evolutionary process, in the present case appearing to contribute to the range expansion of the rare E. risdonii in response to climate change.

Eucalyptus benthamii is a threatened species with a restricted range to the southwest of Sydney, Australia. One extant subpopulation is relatively secure within a closed water catchment in the Kedumba Valley. However, the other main subpopulation, which once probably had a more-extensive distribution along the Nepean River, is now fragmented due to clearing for agriculture and urban development. This has impacted on reproductive success and recruitment. Planting of trees in urbanised areas and other locations along the Nepean River has been ongoing for over 20 years and is an important circa situm conservation measure. Government policy has been to plant trees that are of local provenance, however it is difficult to know whether this policy has been properly implemented: it is possible that planting stock may have been sourced from the Kedumba subpopulation. Microsatellite markers were used to examine the probable origins and kinship of 133 planted trees from 15 planted sites around Camden, NSW. Population assignment confirmed that the majority of planted trees are probably from the local Nepean River subpopulation, although some were identified that are very likely to have originated from the Kedumba Valley. While the overall diversity of the planted trees is high, kinship within individual planted stands is often elevated, increasing the potential for inbreeding and limiting their usefulness as seed sources. This probably reflects seed sourced from a narrow genetic base. We discuss the findings and their implications in the context of the species’ management and conservation strategy.

This study aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of diameter at breast height over bark (DBHOB), bark percentage (Bark%) and the correlation between DBHOB and Bark% for Corymbia spp. Three indep...

In Cambodia, information on common pathogens causing reproductive losses in cattle and buffalo are lacking, despite there being a need to address livestock health to enhance food security. We analysed stored buffalo (n = 29) and cattle (n = 471) serum samples collected in 2016 using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Antibodies to Neospora caninum, bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo and Brucella abortus were detected in buffalo samples at 79.3% (95% CI 64.6-94.0), 3.4% (95% CI 0-10.0), 0% and 0%, respectively, and in cattle at 4.2% (95% CI 2.4-6.0), 6.4% (95% CI 4.2-8.6), 8.1% (95% CI 5.6-10.6) and 0%, respectively. The high N. caninum seroprevalence in buffalo was associated with increasing age, with buffalo having a 13.1% chance of being seropositive at birth, increasing to 99.4% by age 7 (p = 0.045). This suggests a predominance of horizontal transmission, possibly from exposure to faeces from free-roaming village dogs. Cattle L. interrogans serovar Hardjo seroprevalence was highest in Tbong Khmum province (20.4%) compared to other provinces (p 0.001), and may be compromising bovine fertility and creating a zoonotic risk for smallholders who may contract leptospirosis from farm work. These high infection rates prompt further research to determine: to what extent these pathogens are linked to the low reproductive efficiency observed in large ruminants in Cambodia, the risk factors to pathogen exposure and appropriate strategies to reduce these risks. Low BVDV and B. abortus exposure is an important observation. Increasing large ruminant livestock trade into the country will require improved biosecurity and disease surveillance to prevent their emergence. An enhanced understanding of the status of infectious reproductive livestock pathogens in Cambodia can assist development projects to make evidence-based strategies to enhance cattle and buffalo health and improve food security.

Novel genetic accessions of Eucalyptus polybractea from a previously untested, hotter and drier part of the species’ natural range were tested in a common garden trial at a semi-arid site in NSW, Australia. Eucalyptus polybractea is a mallee eucalypt cultivated for essential oils (1,8-cineole), bioenergy and carbon sequestration on dryland sites in southern Australia (sites receiving about 450 mm mean annual rainfall, MAR). A trial of six previously untested provenances from the relatively hot, dry part of the species’ natural range in South Australia (SA) (250–450 mm MAR) was established alongside seven provenances from New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria within a commercial plantation in NSW. The trial was assessed at age 3.7 years for growth and oil characteristics. While survival was excellent, most of the SA sources were slower growing and of sub-standard oil concentration and quality relative to those from Victoria and NSW. However, a single SA provenance, with the highest oil concentration and 1,8-cineole percentage of all provenances tested, may have potential as a source of selected germplasm. Infusion of SA material into the breeding populations of E. polybractea, which are currently based on NSW and Victorian selections only, may provide more resilience in the face of hotter and drier temperatures expected under projected climate change scenarios, and/or allow the introduction of the species to hotter and drier climates in Australia or other parts of the world with semi-arid climates. However, high-intensity selection of infusions will be required to maintain the growth and oil characteristics in the existing breeding population.

Landscape degradation is a major threat to global biodiversity that is being further exacerbated by climate change. Halting or reversing biodiversity decline using seed-based restoration requires tons of seed, most of which is sourced from wild populations. However, in regions where restoration is most urgent, wild seed sources are often fragmented, declining and producing seed with low genetic diversity. Seed production areas (SPAs) can help to reduce the burden of collecting native seed from remnant vegetation, improve genetic diversity in managed seed crops and contribute to species conservation. Banksia marginata (Proteaceae) is a key restoration species in south-eastern Australia but is highly fragmented and declining across much of its range. We evaluated genetic diversity, population genetic structure and relatedness in two B. marginata SPAs and the wild populations from which the SPA germplasm was sourced. We found high levels of relatedness within most remnants and that the population genetic structure was best described by three groups of trees. We suggest that SPAs are likely to be important to meet future native seed demand but that best practice protocols are required to assist land managers design and manage these resources including genetic analyses to guide the selection of germplasm.

Research Highlights: High variation of genetic diversity and differentiation among 27 seed sources within 14 natural provenances and 13 land race samples of Casuarina equisetifolia were found. High proportions of monoecious individuals may be present in some populations, as indicated by severe heterozytote deficiency and inbreeding found in many provenances and land races. The most probable origins of the land races were inferred according to the values of pairwise provenance differentiation and Nei’s genetic distances. Targeted introductions and testing of unrelated new accessions of C. equisetifolia from the Pacific and Philippines was proposed to identify Ralstonia-resistant genotypes. Background and Objectives: Casuarina equisetifolia was introduced to China a hundred years ago and has become a critically important tree species in coastal protection since the 1950s. Despite its importance, patterns of genetic variation, genetic relationships among natural provenances and probable origins of the land races remain unresolved. This has become a concern in China where Ralstonia solanacearum bacterial wilt has devastated plantations that are known to be from a narrow genetic base that urgently needs to be broadened. Materials and Methods: Fourteen natural provenances from Australia, Pacific islands and Southeast Asia, and 13 land race samples from parts of Asia and Africa outside the natural range were genotyped using 13 SSR (Simple Sequence Repeats) markers to characterize their allelic variation and genetic relationship. Results: Significant genetic diversity and differentiation among 27 seed sources within 14 provenances and 13 land race samples of C. equisetifolia was indicated. Significant heterozygote deficiency and inbreeding was indicated for a number of provenances, perhaps indicating a high proportion of monoecious parents in these populations. The most probable origins of the land races of the introduced countries were suggested according to the values of pairwise provenance differentiation (FST) and Nei’s genetic distances. Conclusions: We found significant genetic diversity and genetic differentiation among seed sources of C. equisetifolia. While individual land races do not appear to lack diversity, we were able to infer the origins of some, allowing targeted introductions of unrelated material to be made. In the case of the Chinese land race, targeting and testing new accessions from the Pacific and the Philippines may be a good strategy to identify Ralstonia-resistant genotypes.

Climate change during the next century is projected to result in increased mean annual temperatures and changes in rainfall amounts and seasonality. It will also cause often challenging effects suc...

The growth and wood traits of four taxa (a) 42 Casuarina junghuhniana (Cj) families from four natural provenances, (b) 9 second generation (2G) Cj families, (c) 43 Cj clones and (d) 14 C. cunninghamiana families, were evaluated at two contrasting sites in southern India. Survival was high (>90%) at the dry coastal Ongole site at 48 months for both the seedlings and clones. Overall, growth was better at the higher rainfall, irrigated inland location West Godavari (WG), but the clones had 16% lower mean survival than Cj seed sources. C. cunninghamiana had significantly lower survival at both sites at 72 months. The clones had comparable growth (height and diameter at breast height) and better stem form and axis persistence than natural provenances and 2G seedlots of C. junghuhniana. Provenance variation was significant for growth traits, while narrow and broad-sense heritability estimates were low to moderate in C. junghuhniana, suggesting that both recurrent selection and breeding among appropriate provenances and deployment of clones are likely to result in genetic gain. Genotype-by-environment interaction was low for growth traits. Wood (density and pulp yield), fibre, and vessel traits were evaluated from core samples in 9–10 families/clones of each taxon at 48 months. Fibre length was significantly higher in 2G seedlots and clones than natural Cj provenances, while C. cunninghamiana had the longest fibres at the irrigated inland site. C. cunninghamiana had significantly lower wood density and Runkel ratio due to lower fibre wall thickness and wider cell lumen (fibre and vessel). All taxa had higher wood density at the dry coastal site due to higher fibre wall thickness, but vessel wall thickness was higher at the irrigated WG site. Narrow-sense heritability estimates for wood traits were moderate for fibre length and width, but low and imprecisely estimated for pulp yield and other traits. However, the broad-sense heritability (clonal repeatability) estimate was moderate for pulp yield, with low clone-by-site interaction, suggesting deployment of suitable, stable clones would be an appropriate deployment strategy.

Casuarina junghuhniana is an emerging tropical plantation species that is increasingly being planted on tropical lowland and mid-altitude sites with moderate dry seasons. Field trials have been established to investigate genetic variation in the species with a view to identifying genetically improved planting material. In this study genetic parameters were estimated for nine growth traits using 29 novel clones of Casuarina junghuhniana planted in Thailand. Survival, height, diameter and stem volume were recorded annually for six consecutive years and compared with a commercially-deployed, Thai benchmark clone. Stem form (axis persistence and stem straightness) and branching habit (branch density, branch thickness and branch angle) were scored when the trees were 4 years of age. Marked variation among clones was observed for all traits at each measurement. While the stand had attained a mean annual increment of 20.8 m3 ha−1 y−1 by year 6, the most productive clone was double the average and four times greater than the benchmark. Broad-sense heritability estimates ( H 2 ) for most traits were moderate (0.13–0.50), and there was a tendency for H 2 to increase with age for survival, diameter and stem volume. There were no correlations between growth and stem form, but growth was negatively correlated with branch thickness and positively correlated with branch angle. Age-age correlation for growth was strong, suggesting that selection for stem volume need not be delayed beyond 3 years. Based on the growth and stem form traits, up to 11 clones are considered suitable for commercial plantation establishment.

ObjectiveThe aim was to assess the financial and operational impact of our new gastroenterology referral pathway model on our services.DesignAn electronic ‘Clinical Assessment Service’ (CAS) proforma and an information platform were developed, and all data were analysed retrospectively.SettingRoyal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.Patients14 245 general practitioner (GP) referrals were received during January 2014–December 2016 with 9773 of them being triaged via our CAS.Main outcome measuresWe looked into patients’ clinical outcome along with departmental performance and finances.ResultsA new outpatient appointment was offered to 60.1% (n=5873) of the CAS referred patients. Endoscopic or radiological investigations were requested for 29.2% (n=2854) of patients prior to deciding on further management plan. Out of those, 27% (n=765) went on to receive another gastroenterology (GI) clinic appointment. The remaining 21.3% (n=2089) of the CAS patients were discharged back to their GP following initial investigations. 5.5% (n=538) were discharged back to primary care with a letter of advice, whereas 5.2% (n=509) were deemed inappropriate for GI clinic and were redirected to other specialists. Overall, 32% (n=3127) of patients were managed without a face to face consultation in the GI clinic. This corresponds to 3136 less outpatient appointments with estimated reduced expenditure by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) of £481K. The 18-week performance and waiting times remained stable despite the increasing referral population. The DNA rate dropped from 14% pre to 8.5%.ConclusionsOur clinical assessment model has, in addition to the clinical benefits, a considerable positive financial impact to the health economy.

Summary Restoring degraded Australian landscapes through revegetation is a key concern of land holders, NGOs and government agencies. With the advent of climate change, it is increasingly important that revegetation activities take into consideration the species and provenance of plant materials to ensure that environmental plantings will be resilient to future climate conditions. A major strength of the past 30 years restoration programmes is the development of a distributed network of educated and experienced practitioners. We have recently invited stakeholders from among this network to participate in a process to cost-effectively build Environmental Research Infrastructure – a nationally distributed network of restoration plantings that explore a broad range of research activities including a better understanding of the adaptive responses of different species and provenances. This would also facilitate long-term monitoring of change and adaptation across Australia, providing a wealth of information to inform future conservation and restoration programmes.

Eucalyptus oil is produced from a number of “oil mallee” species with high concentration of foliar essential oils, high proportion of 1,8-cineole and the ability to re-sprout with multiple stems from lignotubers after coppicing. Eucalyptus polybractea is one of the most planted mallees in Australia, but few efforts have been made to improve crop yields through selection or breeding programs, with the exception of seed collection from trees with high oil and 1,8-cineole concentration. The yield of essential oil from commercial eucalypt plantations is subject to several quantitative traits that interact, both positively and negatively. Using non-destructive methods we assessed traits relating to oil yield (quantitative and qualitative variation of foliar essential oils and biomass-related parameters) for their variability, heritability as well as phenotypic and genetic interactions in an open-pollinated progeny trial with 40 families and 480 individuals of E. polybractea. From this we built models to predict family yield performance and compared our predictions to commercial scale harvests of the same trial. Our models show that relying on oil concentration and 1,8-cineole proportion alone is not ideal for selection of top performing families. Rather a mixture of biomass related traits, foliar oil concentration, 1,8-cineole proportion and leaf architecture contribute to the top performing families in varying ways.

Endospermum medullosum (whitewood) is a commercially important plantation and agroforestry timber species in Vanuatu, used locally and for export. Commercial development depends on both increased productivity and genetic resource conservation. A second-generation progeny trial on Espiritu Santo Island was measured at ages 2 and 3 years. Growth traits were of low-to-moderate heritability, varying from 0.13 for height at 2 years, to 0.30 for diameter at breast height (DBH) at 3 years. Genetic correlations between growth and form traits were generally encouraging, with form at 3 years moderately-positively correlated (0.49 to 0.56) with the growth measures at ages 2 and 3 years, and no adverse correlations evident. Families of Espiritu Santo origins were consistently amongst the highest ranked for both growth and form traits, while families of Malekula and Pentecost Island performed poorly. These results are supportive of the recurrent selection and breeding strategy being implemented to deliver econ...

High-throughput genotyping techniques have enabled large-scale genomic analysis to precisely predict complex traits in many plant species. However, not all species can be well represented in commercial SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) arrays. In this study, a high-density SNP array (60 K) developed for commercial Eucalyptus was used to genotype a breeding population of Eucalyptus cladocalyx, yielding only ~3.9 K informative SNPs. Traditional Bayesian genomic models were investigated to predict flowering, stem quality and growth traits by considering the following effects: (i) polygenic background and all informative markers (GS model) and (ii) polygenic background, QTL-genotype effects (determined by GWAS) and SNP markers that were not associated with any trait (GSq model). The estimates of pedigree-based heritability and genomic heritability varied from 0.08 to 0.34 and 0.002 to 0.5, respectively, whereas the predictive ability varied from 0.19 (GS) and 0.45 (GSq). The GSq approach outperformed GS models in terms of predictive ability when the proportion of the variance explained by the significant marker-trait associations was higher than those explained by the polygenic background and non-significant markers. This approach can be particularly useful for plant/tree species poorly represented in the high-density SNP arrays, developed for economically important species, or when high-density marker panels are not available.

Genetic trials at three dryland sites in southern India compared 183 families from 4 superior natural provenances, 48 families from locally developed seed sources and 10 commercial clones of Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Three of the local seed sources were seed production areas developed by phenotypic selection for growth from an initial broad base of superior natural provenances, and two were clonal trials. The local seed sources grew significantly faster to 3 years than the natural provenances and the clones. Mean survival at 3 years of the natural provenances (72 %, across the three sites) was better than that of local seed sources (67 %) and clones (50 %). The three types of planting materials did not differ significantly in their wood basic density or NIR-predicted lignin content, while clones had significantly higher NIR-predicted pulp yield. Site mean wood density was highest (579 kg m−3), and pulp yield lowest (43.7 %) at the driest site where growth was slowest, while at the wettest, most productive site, density was 517 kg m−3 and pulp yield 46.5 %. Narrow-sense heritabilities and inter-site genetic correlations for growth and wood traits were moderate to high. Genetic correlations between growth and wood traits did not differ significantly from zero. Unpedigreed seed production areas developed from an appropriate genetic base of best provenances, may provide a simple option to mass-produce improved seed.

International audience; Casuarina trees are planted along the coast from Hainan province in South China to the Zhoushan Islands of Zhejiang province in Southeastern China. Three key species, Casuarina equisetifolia, Casuarina cunninghamiana and Casuarina glauca, are used as windbreaks, in agroforestry systems, and for the production of timber and fuel wood. Frankia have been studied in China since 1984. Today, Frankia research fields are very wide, and cover morphology, physiology and genetic diversity, and the application of inocula for specific purposes on poor quality sites. In this paper, we review the role of Frankia inoculations in nurseries and casuarina plantations in China and discuss the benefits of inoculation.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:22:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-08-01 The estimation of quantitative genetic parameters in breeding programs is important to ensure efficient selection. In this context, knowledge of the mating system is critical, as it underpins assumptions about inter-relatedness on which variance component estimation depends. However, proper account of the breeding system is not always taken, either because it is unknown and/or because it is ignored. That eucalypts have a mixed-mating system is well-established, however many breeders use models that assume outcrossed mating with an infinite number of male parents (i.e. allogamous mating), from which genetic parameter estimates are then used to predict genetic gains. First-generation, open-pollinated progeny tests of Corymbia citriodora subsp. citriodora and C. citriodora subsp. variegata, being managed for seed production, were used to investigate the likely bias, resulting in overestimation of genetic parameters under the assumption of allogamous mating. When we assumed allogamous mating, we observed inflated predictions of additive variance and narrow-sense heritability (h^a2) of diameter at breast height and height. The overestimate of h^a2 was approximately 32% for C. citriodora subsp. citriodora and 21% for C. citriodora subsp. variegata. Inappropriate modelling of relatedness in eucalypts that assumes panmictic outcrossing when in fact these species have a mixed-mating system results in overestimates of the population genetic gain with selection. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Florestal Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rua José Barbosa de Barros, 1780, Portaria II: Rodovia Alcides Soares, Km 3 Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Florestais (IPEF), Avenida Pádua Dias 11, Caixa Postal 530 University of the Sunshine Coast, Locked Bag 4 CSIRO Australian Tree Seed Centre, Clunies Ross Street Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Florestal Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rua José Barbosa de Barros, 1780, Portaria II: Rodovia Alcides Soares, Km 3