European aspen (Populus tremula L.) genetic diversity assessed by molecular methods correlation with P. tremulae infection incidence

Abstract

This study was based on different susceptibility of Populus tremula clones to Phellinus tremulae, the major pathogen of this tree species. As the conventional resistance genes detection is time consuming and expensive, it is important to find other applicable methods to recognize resistance genes of the plants. The aim of this study was the assessment of correlation between various genetic population parameters and phenotipic, resistance or highly heritable traits of individual P. tremula trees.In this study we investigated all Lithuanian P. tremula plus trees from 16 populations in 3 provenance regions. Investigated trees were analyzed using RAPD, SSR and PCR-RFLP methods, and their individual and population genetic parameters as well as infection incidence with P. tremulae were assessed.Determined genetic parameters were examined for correlation with P. tremulae infection. Only two out of 292 RAPD loci were significant for damaged and undamaged by P. tremulae groups of trees.The resistance of investigated European aspen plus trees with P. tremulae showed no dependency on the population, provenance region or individual tree heterozygosity. RAPD loci linked to infection should be investigated further, to confirm or reject their value in assesing individual tree susceptibility to P. tremulae and the genetic mechanisms underlying such correlation.

Diseases of Populus tremula L. in the subtaiga forests of the Yenisei Siberia: pathogens and their impact

“…tremulae incidence rate was on average 28.5% and reached more than 50%, which corresponds to a severe degree of damage (Table 4). Our results confirm phytopathological studies of aspen forests in many regions [1,[12][13][14][15]. The fungus decays living tree stem wood affecting aspen trees of different diameter according to forest stand diameter structure (with some predominance of large-sized trees) (Figure 1a).…”

A method for sampling the living wood microbiome

“…For every step, from sample collection, to homogenization, to microbial nucleic acid extraction and downstream analyses, the physical resiliency of the material and its numerous inhibitory compounds present logistical challenges (Rachmayanti et al, 2009). While promising inroads into the study of wood-borne communities (Denman et al, 2018;Flanagan et al, 2021;Proença et al, 2017;Ren et al, 2019), and the methods for doing so (Verbylaite et al, 2010), have been made, a lack of a critically validated procedure for the extraction and amplification of microbial nucleic acids from living wood presents a significant barrier-to-entry for the field. Existing methods have proven successful in isolating high-quality nucleic acids from wood endophytes, however they are often limited by throughput (e.g.…”

A Method for Sampling the Living Wood Microbiome

“…For every step, from sample collection, to homogenization, to microbial nucleic acid extraction and downstream analyses, the physical resiliency of the material and its numerous inhibitory compounds present logistical challenges (Rachmayanti et al ., 2009). While promising inroads into the study of wood-borne communities (Proença et al ., 2017; Denman et al ., 2018; Ren et al ., 2019; Flanagan et al ., 2021), and the methods for doing so (Verbylaite et al ., 2010), have been made, a lack of a critically validated procedure for the extraction and amplification of microbial nucleic acids from living wood presents a significant barrier-to-entry for the field and complicates the comparison of studies which rely on different methodologies (Table 1) . Characterizing the limits of the analytical tools involved in the study of wood endophytes is essential for accurately interpreting the ecological and functional significance of these communities and understanding their role in forest ecosystems, tree health, and potential applications in biotechnology and conservation.…”