The genetic basis of adaptation in phenology in an introduced population of Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa, Torr. & Gray).

Background: Entering and exiting winter dormancy present important trade-offs between growth and survival at northern latitudes. Many forest trees display local adaptation across latitude in traits associated with these phenology transitions. Transfers of a species outside its native range introduce the species to novel combinations of environmental conditions potentially requiring different combinations of alleles to optimize growth and survival.

Quantitative genetic architecture of adaptive phenology traits in the deciduous tree, Populus trichocarpa (Torr. and Gray).

In a warming climate, the ability to accurately predict and track shifting environmental conditions will be fundamental for plant survival. Environmental cues define the transitions between growth and dormancy as plants synchronise development with favourable environmental conditions, however these cues are predicted to change under future climate projections which may have profound impacts on tree survival and growth. Here, we use a quantitative genetic approach to estimate the genetic basis of spring and autumn phenology in Populus trichocarpa to determine this species capacity for climate adaptation.

Inferring the Genomic Landscape of Recombination Rate Variation in European Aspen ().

The rate of meiotic recombination is one of the central factors determining genome-wide levels of linkage disequilibrium which has important consequences for the efficiency of natural selection and for the dissection of quantitative traits. Here we present a new, high-resolution linkage map for that we use to anchor approximately two thirds of the draft genome assembly on to the expected 19 chromosomes, providing us with the first chromosome-scale assembly for (Table 2). We then use this resource to estimate variation in recombination rates across the genome and compare these results to recombination rates based on linkage disequilibrium in a large number of unrelated individuals.