Diagnostics of one- and two-year-old seedlings of curly birch using the molecular marker BPCW1, which correlates with the “patterned wood” trait

The results of diagnostics of curly birch (Betula pendula Roth var. carelica (Mercklin) Hämet-Ahti) are presented among one- and two-year-old seedlings obtained as a result of open pollination of trees growing in the Leningrad Region on the territory of the Gatchina PLSU. Using the BpCW1 molecular marker, it was possible to identify potential carriers of figured wood among seedlings already in the first year of life, although its indirect characteristics become apparent in trees on average at the age of 8 years or later. It was shown that 23 of the 95 seedlings studied (24%) contained amplification products (476 bp or 476/530 bp) characteristic of curly birch. It was established that the allele containing the deletion is represented mainly (91.3%) in the heterozygous (476/530 bp) state and only a small percentage (8.7%) in the homozygous (476/476 bp) state, regardless of the age of the seedlings. However, the number of potential carriers of patterned wood is 3.6 times higher among two-year-old seedlings than among one-year-olds. It is hypothesized that the small proportion of plants with patterned wood in the seed progeny of curly birch is due, on the one hand, to their origin (from open pollination) and, on the other, to the specific histogenesis of seedlings during the first two years of their development. Analysis of growth indicators shows that two-year-old plants significantly exceed one-year-olds in average height and diameter (sixfold and threefold, respectively). Based on the conducted work, it is concluded that the use of open-pollinated seeds for growing curly birch planting material is feasible, provided that carriers of the “patterned wood” trait are identified among them using the BpCW1 molecular marker. This is virtually impossible to achieve at an early age using other methods based solely on the analysis of external (morphological) or physiologicalbiochemical characteristics. In the future, this method can be used both for solving scientific problems and for practical use.

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