How eco-evolutionary principles can guide tree breeding and tree biotechnology for enhanced productivity

Area of Science:

• Forestry
• Plant Biotechnology
• Eco-evolutionary Theory

Background:

• Forest productivity is crucial for mitigating climate change impacts and human exploitation.
• Current tree breeding and biotechnology lack an overarching principle to guide trait selection for enhanced productivity.
• Understanding the trade-offs between natural selection and artificial selection is key for genetic improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a method for identifying traits that can be modified to enhance tree productivity.
• To explore potential modifications using a plant growth and survival model across diverse environmental conditions.
• To guide plant breeding and genetic technology by identifying target traits for increased forest productivity.

Main Methods:

• Developed a tractable model of plant growth and survival.
• Analyzed trade-offs between productivity and survival traits (isohydric behavior, defense allocation).
• Simulated trait modifications under varying environmental conditions (water availability).

Main Results:

• Productivity can be increased by reducing isohydric behavior and defense allocation, potentially at the cost of survival.
• For drought-prone sites, selecting for lower wood density and enhanced isohydric behavior/defense is suggested.
• Altering root traits to reduce competition for resources consistently increases productivity across genotypes.

Conclusions:

• Trait modification strategies must be customized based on species, environment, and production goals.
• Eco-evolutionary theory and modeling provide a framework for selecting target traits in tree breeding.
• Targeting root traits offers a universal approach for significant productivity gains in forest genetics.