Genetic control of altitudinal variation on female reproduction in Abies sachalinensis revealed by a crossing experiment
2017
Hisamoto, Yoko | Goto, Susumu
The relationship between reproduction and vegetative growth is linked to plants’ life history strategies. Female reproduction often starts earlier in trees growing at high altitudes than those at low altitudes despite their smaller size; moreover, trees growing in a severe environment tend to have a large reproductive biomass after the onset of reproduction. To determine whether these aspects of female reproduction in high-altitude trees are heritable, we analyzed the progeny of four crosses between Abies sachalinensis trees from high altitude (1100–1200 m above sea level [asl]) (H) and low altitude (530 m asl) (L), namely (female × male): L × H, H × L, L × L, and H × H. Progeny of each cross were planted in experimental garden at 230 m asl at the University of Tokyo, Hokkaido Forest in 1986 and in 2011–2014, the number of female cones from 21 trees derived from the four crosses were counted and individual tree sizes were measured. The number of cones was in the order: L × H < L × L < H × L < H × H. Statistical analysis showed that tree size and the proportion of high-altitude genome in both mother and father significantly affected the number of cones produced. Larger trees with higher proportions of the high-altitude genome tended to produce more cones, although the L × H progeny produced fewer cones than the H × L progeny, despite their similar heights and proportions of the high-altitude genome. The growth environment of the maternal parent trees during seed formation might also have influenced the number of cones.
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