The clones hiding in the wood: implication for in situ conservation

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| by Sanna Olsson, Delphine Grivet, Ricardo Alía

Clonal and genetic diversity studies of European black poplar unveil insights critical for conserving forest genetic resources and assessing their adaptive potential.

When focusing on the conservation and management of Genetic Conservation Units (GCUs), understanding population dynamics is crucial. For the European black poplar (Populus nigra), one of the four species undergoing high-intensity sampling in the FORGENIUS project, both reproductive systems—sexual (with separate male and female trees) and clonal (via resprouting)—must be considered.

As part of the project, we analysed two GCUs: one in Austria (AUT00284) and another in Spain (ESP00395). This analysis involved genotyping 500 adult trees and 250 progenies from each unit. Using molecular markers, we assessed genetic diversity and clonality with the 4TREE SNP array and confirmed individual sex through PCR-RFLP techniques.

Left: Catkins. Photo: CITA | Middle: Seed release (cottonwood like). Photo: CITA | Right: At the black poplar conservation unit ESP00395 (La Alfranca, Spain). Photo: ICIFOR-INIA-CSIC

The results reveal a balanced proportion of male and female trees, a moderate level of genetic diversity (heterozygosity below 0.20), and a clonality percentage of around or under 20% within each unit. These findings provide a reassuring outlook for the genetic health of these GCUs, with no immediate concerns regarding their genetic background.

The next phase will involve integrating genetic data with phenotypic and environmental information to evaluate the adaptive capacity of these two GCUs. Stay tuned for further insights!

Partners

INIA-CSIC, BFW, INRAE, CITA, CETEMAS, CNR, UMR, UFR

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