Phenotypic Diversity Analysis in Elaeagnus angustifolia Populations in Gansu Province, China

Abstract

As a highly resistant urban ornamental plant, Elaeagnus angustifolia L. is often used in dry land, saline-alkali land shelter forest, and landscape horticulture. It is the main windbreak and sand-fixing tree species in Gansu Province, China. The special geographical and climatic environment makes the distribution and growth of E. angustifolia in Gansu Province show different degrees of difference. In order to evaluate the phenotypic diversity of E. angustifolia in different populations and its variation patterns under different geographical and climatic conditions, 35 phenotypic traits (trunk, branch, leaf, and flower related traits) of 90 plants from 10 populations in Gansu Province were measured and analyzed. The results showed the following: (1) E. angustifolia has rich phenotypic variation. The variation is greater among populations. The traits with the largest and smallest coefficients of variation were “under-branch height” and “flower diameter”, respectively. The variation in the Qilihe population was the largest, and the variation in the Ganzhou population was the smallest. The diversity of flowers and leaves is relatively higher. (2) Correlation analysis showed that most of traits were closely related. Leaf traits showed a gradient variation law dominated by altitude and precipitation. Flower traits were affected by the synergistic effects of various geographical and climatic factors. (3) The results of the principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the primary traits affecting the phenotypic diversity of E. angustifolia were leaf size and branch length among the related traits of trunk, branch, leaf, and flower. (4) Cluster analysis showed that 90 E. angustifolia plants were clustered into four clusters that were not completely clustered according to geographical distance and may be randomly affected by genotypic or environmental factors. These results will lay a foundation for further analysis of the genetic mechanism of phenotypic traits of E. angustifolia and also provide a reference for the collection, preservation, and variety improvement of E. angustifolia germplasm resources.

Comprehensive Evaluation and Selection of 192 Maize Accessions from Different Sources

“…Analysing the genetic diversity of phenotypic traits is fundamental to crop breeding work. Phenotypic traits are the most intuitive characteristics of plants [7]. Investigating the diversity of agronomic traits in maize accessions can uncover genetic variances among traits from diverse sources, facilitating the identification of germplasm with superior performance.…”

“…Investigating the growth attributes of maize accessions and identifying superior germplasm are essential for providing theoretical foundations to tackle production challenges across diverse ecological zones. The variability in phenotypic traits, encompassing agronomic characteristics, stems from the interplay between genetic diversity and environmental factors such as climate, soil type, fertility, and cultivation practices across different years and locations [6][7][8]. Phenotypic traits, reflecting gene-environment interactions, are readily available and so convenient for evaluation [9].…”

Phenotypic Variation Analysis and Excellent Clone Selection of Alnus cremastogyne from Different Provenances

“…The experimental data were summarized using Microsoft Office Excel 2019, and the nested variance analysis, multiple comparisons, correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 27, and the graphs were generated using OriginPro2022b. For the data analysis, nested variance analysis was employed, and the linear model of variance analysis according to the following statistical model [89]: Y ijk = µ + P i + C(P) i(j) + ε ijk (7) where Y ijk is an individual plant observation; µ is the overall mean; P i is the effect of among provenances; C(P) i(j) is the clone within provenances effect; and ε ijk is the random error. The phenotypic coefficient of variation was calculated as follows:…”

“…Phenotypic variation is a significant outcome arising from the combined influence of genetic and environmental factors. The tree growth reflects the adaptation of genotypes to environmental changes, irreversible changes in long-term stress selection, and emergence of new phenotypes following stable inheritance [ 7 ]. Therefore, the investigation of phenotypic variations is beneficial to unraveling the intricate mechanisms of gene–environment interactions.…”

Discovery and characterization of a novel pathogen Erwinia pyri sp. nov. associated with pear dieback: taxonomic insights and genomic analysis

“…China has a cultivation area of about half of the country and a yield >60%, Anhui, Hebei, Shandong, and Liaoning provinces are the concentrated pear production areas. In addition, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, is famous for producing winter pears ( Shi et al, 2023 ). In 2021, with the increasing convenience of forest fruit circulation across various regions of China, a pear tree disease known as pear fire blight of Xinjiang Korla fragrant pear ( Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu) spread to Gansu Province ( Sun et al, 2023 ).…”