A latitudinal cline in disease resistance of a host tree.

The possible drivers and implications of an observed latitudinal cline in disease resistance of a host tree were examined. Mycosphaerella leaf disease (MLD) damage, caused by Teratosphaeria species, was assessed in five Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum) common garden trials containing open-pollinated progeny from 13 native-forest populations. Significant population and family within population variation in MLD resistance was detected, which was relatively stable across different combinations of trial sites, ages, seasons and epidemics. A distinct genetic-based latitudinal cline in MLD damage among host populations was evident. Two lines of evidence argue that the observed genetic-based latitudinal trend was the result of direct pathogen-imposed selection for MLD resistance. First, MLD damage was positively associated with temperature and negatively associated with a prediction of disease risk in the native environment of these populations; and, second, the quantitative inbreeding coefficient (QST) significantly exceeded neutral marker FST at the trial that exhibited the greatest MLD damage, suggesting that diversifying selection contributed to differentiation in MLD resistance among populations. This study highlights the potential for spatial variation in pathogen risk to drive adaptive differentiation across the geographic range of a foundation host tree species.

The effects of age and environment on the expression of inbreeding depression in Eucalyptus globulus.

Inbreeding adversely affects fitness traits in many plant and animal species, and the magnitude, stability and genetic basis of inbreeding depression (ID) will have short- and long-term evolutionary consequences. The effects of four degrees of inbreeding (selfing, f=50%; full- and half-sib matings, f=25 and 12.5%; and unrelated outcrosses, f=0%) on survival and growth of an island population of Eucalyptus globulus were studied at two sites for over 14 years. For selfs, ID in survival increased over time, reaching a maximum of 49% by age 14 years. However, their inbreeding depression for stem diameter remained relatively stable with age, and ranged from 28 to 36% across years and sites. ID for survival was markedly greater on the more productive site, possibly due to greater and earlier onset of inter-tree competition, but was similar on both sites for the diameter of survivors. The deleterious trait response to increasing inbreeding coefficients was linear for survival and diameter. Non-significant quadratic effects suggested that epistasis did not contribute considerably to the observed ID at the population level. Among- and within-family coefficients of variation for diameter increased with inbreeding degree, and the variance among the outcrossed families was significant only on the more productive site. The performance of self-families for diameter was highly stable between sites. This suggests that, for species with mixed mating systems, environmentally stable inbreeding effects in open-pollinated progenies may tend to mask the additive genotype-by-environment interaction for fitness traits and the adaptive response to the environment.

Maternal inheritance of the chloroplast genome in Eucalyptus globulus and interspecific hybrids.

The utility of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) in Eucalyptus, either as a molecular marker for genetic studies or as a potential vehicle for genetic manipulation, is based on knowledge of its mode of inheritance. Chloroplast inheritance in angiosperms can vary among and within species, and anomalous inheritance has been reported in some interspecific-hybrid combinations. In Eucalyptus, abnormalities of pollen-tube growth occur in a number of interspecific-hybrid combinations, and this might increase the likelihood of anomalous chloroplast transmission. We used a rapid PCR technique to determine chloroplast heritability in 425 progeny of Eucalyptus, comprising 194 progeny of the premier pulpwood species E. globulus and 231 interspecific hybrids between E. globulus and E. nitens (F1, F2, and backcrosses). At this sampling intensity, no pollen-mediated transmission of cpDNA was found in any of the 40 families tested. The results are discussed with reference to chloroplast engineering and the use of cpDNA as a seed-specific marker in phylogeographic studies of Eucalyptus.

F1 hybrid inviability in eucalyptus: the case of E. ovata x E. globulus.

The impact of inbreeding and hybridization on fitness was compared in the two co-occurring forest tree species, Eucalyptus ovata and E. globulus, aimed at explaining the rarity of their hybrids in nature. The success of selfing, open-pollination and outcrossing of both species and interspecific hybridization was monitored from seed-set to 10-year's growth in a field trial. There was a unilateral barrier to hybridization with seed-set obtained only with E. ovata females. The F1 hybrids exhibited reduced viability compared to intraspecific cross-types at virtually all stages of the life cycle and are clearly at a selective disadvantage compared with their open-pollinated E. ovata half-sibs with which they would directly compete in nature. Eucalyptus ovata and E. globulus overlap in their flowering time but the F1 hybrids flowered later with virtually no overlap with either species. The asynchronous flowering and reduced reproductive fitness of F1 hybrids would markedly limit the opportunity for advanced generation hybridization. Inbreeding similarly had a deleterious effect on the fitness of both species, and the F1 hybrids were most competitive with the E. ovata selfs. It is argued that changes in inbreeding levels of parental populations may be a key factor affecting the relative fitness of hybrids and their potential to impact on the pure species gene pool. Reduced fitness of the pure species through inbreeding may result in hybridization having its greatest evolutionary impact in small founder or relict populations.