Is Pollen Production of Birch Controlled by Genetics and Local Conditions?

Intraspecific genetic variation might limit the relevance of environmental factors on plant traits. For example, the interaction between genetics and (a-)biotic factors regulating pollen production are still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated pollen production of 28 birch (Betula pend...

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Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-07, Vol.19 (13), p.8160
Main Authors: Ranpal, Surendra, Sieverts, Miriam, Wörl, Verena, Kahlenberg, Georgia, Gilles, Stefanie, Landgraf, Maria, Köpke, Kira, Kolek, Franziska, Luschkova, Daria, Heckmann, Tobias, Traidl-Hoffmann, Claudia, Büttner, Carmen, Damialis, Athanasios, Jochner-Oette, Susanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air Pollution
Air quality
Air temperature
Allergens
Allergies
Betula - genetics
Betula pendula
Biotic factors
Cloning
Environmental conditions
Environmental factors
Gardens & gardening
Genetic diversity
Genetics
Genotypes
Humans
Morphology
Nitrogen dioxide
Phenology
Plantations
Pollen
Pollen - genetics
Seeds
Solar radiation
Temperature
Trees
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Summary:Intraspecific genetic variation might limit the relevance of environmental factors on plant traits. For example, the interaction between genetics and (a-)biotic factors regulating pollen production are still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated pollen production of 28 birch (Betula pendula Roth) individuals in the years 2019−2021. We sampled catkins of eleven groups of genetically identical trees, which were partially topped, but of the same age and located in a seed plantation in southern Germany characterized by similar microclimatic conditions. Furthermore, we monitored environmental factors such as air temperature, characterized air quality (NO2, NOx and O3), and assessed potential solar radiation. We especially checked for differences between years as well as between and within clones and assessed the synchronicity of years with high/low pollen production. We present a robust mean for the pollen production of Betula pendula (1.66 million pollen grains per catkin). Our findings show temporal (H(2) = 46.29, p < 0.001) and clonal variations (H(4) = 21.44, p < 0.001) in pollen production. We conclude that synchronized high or low pollen production is not utterly site-specific and, in addition, not strictly dependent on genotypes. We suggest that appropriate clone selection based on application (seed plantation, urban planting) might be advantageous and encourage a long-term monitoring.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph19138160