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Genetic parameter estimates and GxE interaction in a large cloned population of Pinus taeda L.

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Abstract

Cloned progeny tests in forest tree breeding provide the ability to assess the same genotypes across multiple environments and partition observed phenotypic variance into additive and non-additive genetic effects. In this study, 2362 clones from 53 crosses of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) were tested across eight locations in the Southern US. Alpha cyclic incomplete row-column design was used to accommodate a large number of clones in a replication. Tree stem volume (cubic decimeter) was assessed at age 6 using various variance-covariance structures of mixed models. Models with factor analytic additive genetic structures and spatially correlated residuals or polynomial fixed row and column effects efficiently captured heterogeneity in the data. The narrow-sense clone mean heritability estimate for stem volume was 0.41 for the simple compound symmetry additive genetic structure. The estimates were higher for more complex models, ranging from 0.56 to 0.61. Non-additive genetic variance for stem volume was about a fraction of the additive genetic variance, suggesting that the trait is mainly controlled by large number of genes each with small effect. The results suggested that for forest trees genetic field tests with large number of genetic entries, breeders should consider incomplete row-column designs to model micro-site heterogeneity in two directions. These designs allow spatial modeling using row and column information, which can efficiently account for heterogeneity in the environment, resulting in higher heritability estimates and more reliable ranking of varieties for selection.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank NC State University Cooperative Tree Improvement Program members (ArborGen, Rayonier, Plum Creek, CellFor, Westervelt, Georgia Forestry Commission, Weyerhaeuser, and NC Forest Service) for their efforts in establishing, management, and measurement of field trials throughout the study period. Thanks to NC State University Cooperative Tree Improvement Program managers Trevor Walker, Austin Heine, and former director Dr. Steve McKeand for the technical support, coordination, and data collection. We are also thankful to Eddie Lauer and Dr. Kitt Payn for providing useful editorial comments on the final version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) project (Grant # 2011-68002-30185).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8002, USA

    Mohammad Nasir Shalizi & Fikret Isik

Authors
  1. Mohammad Nasir Shalizi
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  2. Fikret Isik
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Contributions

Shalizi analyzed the data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Isik contributed to the modeling, writing, and interpretation. Both authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fikret Isik.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Communicated by J. Beaulieu

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Key message

An incomplete row-column experimental design was successful in accommodating a large number of genetic entries, estimating genetic variances and producing higher heritability estimates in a cloned loblolly pine population.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Individual site mean annual precipitation (mm), average minimum temperature (°C), estimated loadings for the first factor (λ1), estimated loadings for the second factor (λ2) from XFA2-BD† model, mean (standard error) and number of observations for age 5 (sites 7–8) and 6 (sites 1–6) volume (cubic decimeter), and rust incidence at each site
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Shalizi, M.N., Isik, F. Genetic parameter estimates and GxE interaction in a large cloned population of Pinus taeda L.. Tree Genetics & Genomes 15, 46 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-019-1352-7

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