Association genetics of acetophenone defence against spruce budworm in mature white spruce. by Lamara, M, Parent, GJ, Giguère, I, Beaulieu, J, Bousquet, J, MacKay, JJ

“…<p><strong>Background:</strong> Outbreaks of spruce budworm (SBW, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) cause major recurrent damage in boreal conifers such as white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) and large losses of forest biomass in North America. …”

A white spruce gene catalog for conifer genome analyses. by Rigault, P, Boyle, B, Lepage, P, Cooke, J, Bousquet, J, MacKay, J

“…A gene catalog was developed for the conifer tree Picea glauca (white spruce) through large-scale expressed sequence tag sequencing and full-length cDNA sequencing to facilitate genome characterizations, comparative genomics, and gene mapping. …”

Long-insert sequence capture detects high copy numbers in a defence-related beta-glucosidase gene βglu-1 with large variations in white spruce but not Norway spruce by Hung, TIN, Wu, ETY, Zeltiņš, P, Jansons, Ā, Ullah, A, Erbilgin, N, Bohlmann, J, Bousquet, J, Birol, I, Clegg, S, Mackay, J

“…The copy number variation (CNV) of two key acetophenone biosynthesis genes Ugt5/Ugt5b and βglu-1 may provide a plausible mechanism underlying the constitutively variable defence in white spruce (Picea glauca) against its primary defoliator, spruce budworm. …”

Association genetics of wood physical traits in the conifer white spruce and relationships with gene expression. by Beaulieu, J, Doerksen, T, Boyle, B, Clément, S, Deslauriers, M, Beauseigle, S, Blais, S, Poulin, P, Lenz, P, Caron, S, Rigault, P, Bicho, P, Bousquet, J, Mackay, J

“…In this study, we used a candidate gene approach to test for associations between 944 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers from 549 candidate genes and 25 wood quality traits in white spruce. A mixed-linear model approach, including a weak but nonsignificant population structure, was implemented for each marker-trait combination. …”

High-density genetic linkage mapping in Sitka spruce advances the integration of genomic resources in conifers by Tumas, H, Ilska, J, Gerardi, S, Laroche, J, A'Hara, S, Boyle, B, Janes, M, McLean, P, Lopez, G, Lee, S, Cottrell, J, Gorjanc, G, Bousquet, J, Woolliams, J, Mackay, JJ

“…Altogether, these 2 linkage maps, the accompanying catalog of 286,159 SNPs and the genotyping chip developed, herein, open new perspectives for a variety of fundamental and more applied research objectives, such as for the improvement of spruce genome assemblies, or for marker-assisted sustainable management of genetic resources in Sitka spruce and related species.…”

Assembling the 20 Gb white spruce (Picea glauca) genome from whole-genome shotgun sequencing data. by Birol, I, Raymond, A, Jackman, S, Pleasance, S, Coope, R, Taylor, G, Yuen, M, Keeling, C, Brand, D, Vandervalk, B, Kirk, H, Pandoh, P, Moore, R, Zhao, Y, Mungall, A, Jaquish, B, Yanchuk, A, Ritland, C, Boyle, B, Bousquet, J, Ritland, K, Mackay, J, Bohlmann, J, Jones, S

“…Sequencing and assembling the large and highly repetitive spruce genome though pushes the boundaries of the current technology. …”

Development of high-density SNP genotyping arrays for white spruce (Picea glauca) and transferability to subtropical and nordic congeners. by Pavy, N, Gagnon, F, Rigault, P, Blais, S, Deschênes, A, Boyle, B, Pelgas, B, Deslauriers, M, Clément, S, Lavigne, P, Lamothe, M, Cooke, J, Jaramillo-Correa, J, Beaulieu, J, Isabel, N, Mackay, J, Bousquet, J

“…These validated SNP resources should open up new avenues for population genetics and comparative genetic mapping at a genomic scale in spruce species.…”

Development of a traceability system based on a SNP array for large-scale production of high-value white spruce (Picea glauca) by Godbout, J, Tremblay, L, Levasseur, C, Lavigne, P, Rainville, A, Mackay, J, Bousquet, J, Isabel, N

“…The plant production system in white spruce (<em>Picea glauca</em>) is used to illustrate our purpose. …”

Molecular evolution of regulatory genes in spruces from different species and continents: heterogeneous patterns of linkage disequilibrium and selection but correlated recent demographic changes. by Namroud, M, Guillet-Claude, C, Mackay, J, Isabel, N, Bousquet, J

Gene copy number variations in adaptive evolution: the genomic distribution of gene copy number variations revealed by genetic mapping and their adaptive role in an undomesticated species, white spruce (Picea glauca) by Prunier, J, Caron, S, Lamothe, M, Blais, S, Bousquet, J, Isabel, N, MacKay, J

“…Here, we report on the genetic mapping of gene CNVs in white spruce, which lacks a contiguous assembly of its large genome (~20 Gb), and their relationships with adaptive phenotypic variation. …”

Connecting tree-ring phenotypes, genetic associations and transcriptomics to decipher the genomic architecture of drought adaptation in a widespread conifer by Depardieu, C, Gérardi, S, Nadeau, S, Parent, GJ, Mackay, JJ, Lenz, P, Lamothe, M, Girardin, MP, Bousquet, J, Isabel, N

“…The interlinked phenotype–genotype–environment network revealed eight high-confidence genes involved in white spruce adaptation to drought, of which four were drought-responsive in the expression analysis. …”

The large repertoire of conifer NLR resistance genes includes drought responsive and highly diversified RNLs by Van Ghelder, C, Parent, GJ, Rigault, P, Prunier, J, Giguère, I, Caron, S, Stival Sena, J, Deslauriers, A, Bousquet, J, Esmenjaud, D, MacKay, J

“…Our analyses encompassed sequences data spanning the major groups of land plants and determinations of NLR transcripts levels in response to drought in white spruce. We showed that conifers have among the most diverse and numerous RNLs in tested land plants. …”