Genome-wide Study on Poplars Show Evidence of Genetic Selection

Scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, and West Virginia University used a combination of genome-wide selection scans and analyses to elucidate the process involved in genetic variation of poplar populations.

The researchers collected 1,100 samples of wild populations of poplar in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Then the samples were propagated in three plantations in California and Oregon. For their analyses, they trimmed down the sample to 544 unrelated individuals whose genotypes could be accurately determined so as to characterize the genetic basis for variation in adaptation. This shift from an approach focused on single candidate genes to the large-scale computational approach will allow analysis using published poplar genome sequence.

Their analyses led them to where the fingerprints of selection are and what genes fall under those fingerprints. The team identified 397 genomic regions that contribute to adaptive traits for wild populations of poplars.

Read more at http://jgi.doe.gov/signatures-selection-inscribed-poplar-genomes/.