Sex-Specific Response to Stress in Populus

Abstract

Populus is an effective model for genetic studies in trees. The genus Populus includes dioecious species, and the differences exhibited in males and females have been intensively studied. This review focused on the distinctions between male and female poplar and aspen plants under stress conditions, such as drought, salinity, heavy metals, and nutrient deficiency on morphological, physiological, proteome, and gene expression levels. In most studies, males of Populus species were more adaptive to the majority of the stress conditions and showed less damage, better growth, and higher photosynthetic capacity and antioxidant activity than that of the females. However, in two recent studies, no differences in non-reproductive traits were revealed for male and female trees. This discrepancy of the results could be associated with experimental design: different species and genotypes, stress conditions, types of plant materials, sampling sizes. Knowledge of sex-specific differences is crucial for basic and applied research in Populus species.

Ecogenetic plasticity and genetic variation in Populus hybrids under the impact of simulated climate change related stressors

“…Poplar hybrids from the northern latitudes suffered more from the increased UV-B radiation than those of southern origin which are better adapted to high UV-B radiation occurring during clear summer days in the southern latitudes. Sensitivity to UV-B is preconditioned not only by the origin of the tree but also by interaction with other stressors (temperature, irrigation regime) (Drilias et al 1997, Zhao et al 2012, Strømme et al 2015 and by gender (Melnikova et al 2017). The study by Duan et al (2008) confirms that in drought conditions the negative effect of UV-B radiation on poplar growth is minimal or non-existent.…”

Mortality of Different Populus Genotypes in Recently Established Mixed Short Rotation Coppice with Robinia pseudoacacia L.

“…In the third year, mortality rates dropped and variation between genotypes declined (Table 2). According to Melkinova et al [40], most studies report that male Populus plants have higher tolerance to environmental stresses such as drought than female plants. However, our findings do not support these studies.…”

Genetics polymorphism of poplars from Moscow region based on high-throughput sequencing of ITS

“…Discussion Poplar is a model object for biological research in trees (Jansson, Douglas, 2007). Over the last decades, numerous approaches have been developed and applied for the analysis of poplar genome, the study of interaction between genotype and environment, and the identification of inter-and intraspecific polymorphism in Populus (Jansson et al, 2010;Melnikova et al, 2017). Morphology analysis is actively used in studies of poplars growing on the territory of Moscow city and the Moscow region.…”