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Environmental and landscape genomics of Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce) reveals clusters of loci involved with both resistance to wintering and increases in height.
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  • Tomas Byrne,
  • Niall Farrelly,
  • Colin Kelleher,
  • Trevor Hodkinson,
  • Stephen Byrne,
  • Susanne Barth
Tomas Byrne
Teagasc
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Niall Farrelly
Teagasc
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Colin Kelleher
National Botanic Gardens
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Trevor Hodkinson
Trinity College Dublin
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Stephen Byrne
Teagasc
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Susanne Barth
Teagasc

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Abstract

Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce) occupies a large number of host environments across the Pacific Northwest, stretching from California to Alaska. Populations have become locally adapted to their environmental niche rather than undergoing speciation and these local adaptions can be discovered and utilised for breeding programs. These local adaptions may contain traits which can confer increased resilience against climate change. Here we employed Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS), Genotype Environment Analysis (GEA) and Canonical correlation analysis to discover adaptive loci. A total of 593 adaptive loci were discovered from the GEA. The GWAS found eight loci involved with height and one with diameter at breast height. The canonical correlation analysis allowed for the discovery of positive and negative correlated loci with traits or environmental variables. We discovered 121 loci positively correlated with environmental values and 10 loci positively correlated with phenotypic traits. We discovered one cluster of adaptive loci involved with snowy winter conditions and two clusters showing adaptation to southern locations characterised with milder conditions. The allelic distribution of positive and negatively correlated loci involved with height showed a north south divide with loci positively correlated with height being distributed below a latitude of 50oN. This shows adaptations for height are generally found south of the 50th latitude. We have discovered signs of local adaptation, with Minor Allele Frequency (MAF) differing between northern and southern populations.