Construction of Core Collection and Phenotypic Evaluation of Toona sinensis

Toona sinensis is an important “vegetable and timber” tree species that is widely distributed in eastern and southeastern Asia. An efficient mechanism for preserving and utilizing germplasm resources is crucial for speeding up the process of genetic improvement of T. sinensis. We collected a total of 1040 germplasm resources of T. sinensis from China, Britain, and New Zealand. Using a total of 27,040 markers, we analyzed the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and core collection of these resources. Additionally, a comprehensive evaluation method for phenotypes of T. sinensis was established by principal component analysis (PCA) and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Our analysis included three main results: Firstly, the breeding population, consisting of a total of 1040 individuals, contains a diverse genetic pool and can be divided into two genetic clusters. Secondly, the best core collection was obtained from the alternative population, consisting of a total of 208 individuals and comprising 20% of the breeding population. It was screened out based on Core Hunter 3 software with the average entry-to-nearest-entry (E-NE) algorithm. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation method was established based on eight selected agronomic traits of the core collection. This method allowed us to screen the best individual plants of the core collection, including N0237, N0972, and N0409. Overall, our research findings will enable better preservation and utilization of T. sinensis germplasm resources and result in faster improvement of T. sinensis varieties.