1. Drought-induced growth phenotypes are associated with genetic variation across a white pine hybrid zone.
- Author
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Peach, L.R., Waring, K.M., Fulé, P.Z., Eckert, A.J., Menon, M., and Swenson, J.K.
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DROUGHT management , *WHITE pine , *HYBRID zones , *GENETIC variation , *GLOBAL warming , *PHENOTYPES , *DROUGHTS - Abstract
Understanding relationships among warming climate, increased drought severity, and the genetic architecture of hybrid drought resilience is necessary for forest conservation and management. We calculated three drought-related tree-ring-growth indices (dendrophenotypes) using tree-ring data from hybrid Pinus strobiformis–Pinus flexilis study trees at nine sites across Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Along with hybrid index (percentage of P. strobiformis ancestry inherited by a single tree) and climate variables, we used dendrophenotypes to (Q1) examine relationships among climate and hybrid index, (Q2) examine relationships between dendrophenotypes and hybrid index, and (Q3) conduct a genotype–phenotype analysis. We observed a significant correlation between hybrid index and dendrophenotypes resulting from high-temperature drought in addition to a significant correlation between those dendrophenotypes and our dataset of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. We conclude that P. strobiformis–P. flexilis trees exhibiting higher hybrid indices are more resilient to high-temperature drought events and encourage future research that identifies a genetic linkage between relevant loci and their conferred physiological benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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