Landscape genomics predicts climate change‐related genetic offset for the widespread Platycladus orientalis (Cupressaceae)

• Main Authors: Kai‐Hua Jia, Wei Zhao, Paul Andrew Maier, Xian‐Ge Hu, Yuqing Jin, Shan‐Shan Zhou, Si‐Qian Jiao, Yousry A El‐Kassaby, Tongli Wang, Xiao‐Ru Wang, Jian‐Feng Mao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2020-04-01
• Series: Evolutionary Applications
• Subjects: adaptation; climate change; genetic offset; genotyping by sequencing; Platycladus orientalis; population structure
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12891

Abstract Understanding and quantifying populations' adaptive genetic variation and their response to climate change are critical to reforestation's seed source selection, forest management decisions, and gene conservation. Landscape genomics combined with geographic and environmental information provide an opportunity to interrogate forest populations' genome‐wide variation for understanding the extent to which evolutionary forces shape past and contemporary populations' genetic structure, and identify those populations that may be most at risk under future climate change. Here, we used genotyping by sequencing to generate over 11,000 high‐quality variants from Platycladus orientalis range‐wide collection to evaluate its diversity and to predict genetic offset under future climate scenarios. Platycladus orientalis is a widespread conifer in China with significant ecological, timber, and medicinal values. We found population structure and evidences of isolation by environment, indicative of adaptation to local conditions. Gradient forest modeling identified temperature‐related variables as the most important environmental factors influencing genetic variation and predicted areas with higher risk under future climate change. This study provides an important reference for forest resource management and conservation for P. orientalis.