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

Abstract

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.

Pollen production of downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) along an altitudinal gradient in the European Alps

“…The length and width (at the broadest point) of one medium-sized inflorescence from each cardinal direction and per tree were measured, and the number of flowers was counted. Then, each catkin was immersed in a 10% KOH solution overnight (Faegri et al 1989 ; Moore et al 1991 ; Ranpal et al 2022 ). After boiling the solution the next day at 120 °C for 10 min, the soft catkin was mashed with a glass rod to discharge pollen.…”

“…After boiling the solution the next day at 120 °C for 10 min, the soft catkin was mashed with a glass rod to discharge pollen. We added a bipolar solvent, glycerol (70%), to a volume of 20 mL (Ranpal et al 2022 ) to prevent pollen from clustering (Shivanna and Rangaswamy 1992 ); safranin was applied as a stain. Using a VITLAB® micropipette, two aliquot samples (10 µL each) of each suspension were taken while the mixture was continuously stirred to achieve homogeneity.…”

The “Local Neighborhood” Effect of Environmental Regulation on Green Innovation Efficiency: Evidence from China

“…However, strict environmental regulation measures in the short term may, for one thing, increase the cost of pollution treatment for companies, crowd out research and development (R&D) funds and adversely affect technological innovation [ 6 , 7 ]. In addition, it also tends to stimulate the short-sighted behavior of local governments, resulting in a game of economic growth and environmental protection between local and neighboring areas, which, in turn, leads to problems such as the transfer of polluting enterprises [ 8 , 9 ]. Over the long term, solving environmental pollution problems will inevitably rely on technological progress [ 10 ], particularly green technology-oriented innovation [ 11 ].…”

Pollen on their way astray – First contact via cross‐kingdom signaling leading to far‐reaching consequences for the atopic march

“…Long‐term data from all continents show that pollen season is becoming longer, more pollen are flying and new, invasive species such as ambrosia are on the rise 14,15 . Especially the interaction between genetics and (a‐)biotic factors regulating pollen production and release were recently elucidated 16 …”

“…14,15 Especially the interaction between genetics and (a-)biotic factors regulating pollen production and release were recently elucidated. 16 The other side of the coin shows that environmental and pollentriggered respiratory diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affect millions worldwide and pose a significant global public health burden. 17 Increasing concentration of pollen implicates increasing symptoms of allergenic patients.…”