Detection and Genetic Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci Influencing Stem Growth Efficiency in Radiata Pine
Abstract
Needle-to-stem unit rate (NESTUR) is a stem growth index of conifer seedling trees that measures the efficiency of stemwood production per unit of needle growth. Five experiments were carried out in this thesis using progenies of two unrelated full-sib radiata pine crosses. The initial experiment (experiment 1) applied the bulked segregant analysis technique to determine whether RAPD analysis could be successfully extended to the development of molecular markers for NESTUR in radiata pine. The NESTUR values of 174 progenies of the full-sib family 12038 x 10946 were determined. Based on the genotypic analysis of the individuals, two quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling NESTUR were identified at ANOVA P-levels of 0.01-0.001. An absence of RAPD fragment markers generated by primers OPE-06 and OPA-10 was associated with low NESTUR values, while primer UBC-333 generated a 550 bp band that was associated with high NESTUR values. Linkage to components of NESTUR (increments in stem diameter and stem volume) was demonstrated for one of the QTL, while the other was unique to NESTUR, and not shared with the components. There was a significant interaction between the two QTLs. Presence of OPA-101200 locus appeared to inhibit expression of the QTL linked to UBC-333 [subscript 550]. ¶ ...