The role of relatedness within a neighborhood in plant-to-plant interaction: effect on height growth and rust damage in <i>Populus nigra</i>

Summary

This study examined how local genetic relatedness within plant neighbourhoods affects genomic predictions for commercially important traits in Populus nigra, using data from a French breeding programme with 1,452 genotypes. Incorporating local relatedness into genomic models had a significantly greater effect on rust resistance than on height, though the overall influence on genomic predictions was modest. The findings suggest that trait-specific genetic architecture may determine whether accounting for neighbourhood relatedness improves breeding efficiency for group performance.

UK applicability

The methodology may inform UK forestry and tree-breeding programmes, particularly those focused on disease resistance; however, applicability depends on whether UK poplar breeding follows similar designs and whether local relatedness effects on rust resistance are consistent across different climatic and pathogenic contexts.

Key measures

Tree height; rust vulnerability; local relatedness; genomic estimated breeding values (GBLUP); single-step GBLUP incorporating local relatedness as a covariate

Outcomes reported

The study assessed how local genetic relatedness among neighbouring trees influences genomic predictions for height growth and rust resistance in black poplar using data from 1,452 genotypes replicated across different neighbourhood compositions. Genomic estimated breeding values (GBLUP) were compared with and without local relatedness as a covariate.

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