Putting the landscape into the genomics of trees: approaches for understanding local adaptation and population responses to changing climate

Tree Genetics & Genomes (2013) 9:901911 DOI 10.1007/s11295-013-0596-x

OPINION PAPER

Putting the landscape into the genomics of trees: approaches for understanding local adaptation and population responses to changing climate

V. L. Sork & S. N. Aitken & R. J. Dyer &

A. J. Eckert & P. Legendre & D. B. Neale

Received: 28 July 2012 /Revised: 6 January 2013 /Accepted: 14 January 2013 /Published online: 26 March 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract The Forest ecosystem genomics Research: supporTing Transatlantic Cooperation project (FoResTTraC, http://www.foresttrac.eu/

Web End =http://www.foresttrac.eu/ ) sponsored a workshop in August 2010 to evaluate the potential for using a landscape genomics approach for studying plant adaptation to the environment and the potential of local populations for coping with changing climate. This paper summarizes our discussions and articulates a vision of how we believe forest trees offer an unparalleled opportunity to address fundamental biological questions, as well as how the application of landscape genomic methods complement to traditional forest genetic approaches that provide critical information needed for natural resource management. In this paper, we will cover four topics. First, we begin by defining landscape genomics and briefly reviewing the

unique situation for tree species in the application of this approach toward understanding plant adaptation to the environment. Second, we review traditional approaches in forest genetics for studying local adaptation and identifying loci underlying locally adapted phenotypes. Third, we present existing and emerging methods available for landscape genomic analyses. Finally, we briefly touch on how these approaches can aid in understanding practical topics such as management of tree populations facing climate change.

Keywords Adaptive genetic variation . Climate change . Environmental association . Forest genetics . Genomics . Landscape genetics

Introduction

Landscape genomics is the spatially explicit study of geographic patterns of genome-wide genetic variation (Holderegger et al. 2006; Manel et al. 2010a; Sork and Waits 2010). Traditionally, landscape genetics has used selectively neutral genetic markers and focused on the impact of landscape features in shaping movement of animals, gene movement of plants via seed and pollen, and geographic patterns of genetic variation, as discussed in numerous reviews on the topic (Balkenhol et al. 2009a, b; Cushman and Landguth 2010; Holderegger and Wagner 2008; Manel et al. 2003; Segelbacher et al. 2010; Storfer et...