Postglacial phylogeography, admixture, and evolution of red spruce ( Sarg.) in Eastern North America.

Climate change is a major evolutionary force that can affect the structure of forest ecosystems worldwide. Red spruce ( Sarg.) has recently faced a considerable decline in the Southern Appalachians due to rapid environmental change, which includes historical land use, and atmospheric pollution.

Genetic signatures of natural selection in response to air pollution in red spruce (Picea rubens, Pinaceae).

One of the most important drivers of local adaptation for forest trees is climate. Coupled to these patterns, however, are human-induced disturbances through habitat modification and pollution. The confounded effects of climate and disturbance have rarely been investigated with regard to selective pressure on forest trees.

A simple method for estimating genetic diversity in large populations from finite sample sizes.

Background: Sample size is one of the critical factors affecting the accuracy of the estimation of population genetic diversity parameters. Small sample sizes often lead to significant errors in determining the allelic richness, which is one of the most important and commonly used estimators of genetic diversity in populations. Correct estimation of allelic richness in natural populations is challenging since they often do not conform to model assumptions.

Protocol: A high-throughput DNA extraction system suitable for conifers.

Background: High throughput DNA isolation from plants is a major bottleneck for most studies requiring large sample sizes. A variety of protocols have been developed for DNA isolation from plants. However, many species, including conifers, have high contents of secondary metabolites that interfere with the extraction process or the subsequent analysis steps.