Our goal was to develop knowledge that will enable insertion of foreign genes into Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] trees. This required improvement of a tissue culture system for producing adventitious shoots from cotyledons, and study of factors affecting gene delivery, expression, and analysis. Administering a short-duration, concentrated liquid pulse...
Chloroplast genomes of conifers are unusual in a
number of respects, including the possession of much
repetitive DNA. By studying the distribution and sequences
of dispersed repetitive DNA, I hoped to gain insight into
the mechanisms of chloroplast genome evolution.
I used restriction mapping and DNA sequencing to
characterize dispersed...
This thesis is concerned with developing techniques for identifying "superior" Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) parent trees based on seedling progeny evaluation. The growth responses of up to 14 open-pollinated families to shade, drought, and stand density were assessed in four experiments. A technique was developed to compare family height...
One hundred and four seed sources from throughout the range of Douglas-fir (Pseudotecia menzieaii (Plirb.) Franco)
were analysed at 20 enzyme loci to determine patterns of genetic variation and to examine intraspecific phylogeny. On average the seed sources were polymorphic at 37 percent
of the loci (range 5.0-65.0), with mean...
In order to better understand the evolutionary patterns revealed by molecular
markers, we studied genetic diversity and differentiation of populations and races of
Douglas-fir using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers of nuclear and
mitochondrial origin. We conducted a range-wide survey of RAPD diversity and
differentiation, and compared RAPDs and...
Three hundred fifty families from 11 breeding zones in southwest Oregon were grown in a common garden in Corvallis, Oregon, and patterns of genetic variation for seed weight and six first-year seedling characteristics were described. For most characteristics, large differences among breeding zones were found along an east-west
transect, with...
This study had three objectives: (1) to teat the hypothesis that multiple flushing of the terminal shoot (intermittent growth pattern) in Douglas-fir seedlings (Pseudotsuca menziesii var. menziesii) has an adaptive significance, especially in inland populations from the drier regions in southwest Oregon; (2) to evaluate the genetic and adaptive consequences...
Gene flow is a major evolutionary force and an important factor in the breeding and conservation of forest trees. I studied the applicability of SSR markers for measuring pollen-mediated gene flow (i.e., pollen flow) in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco). I developed SSR markers, tested alternative approaches for measuring pollen...
The purpose of this study was to investigate variation
in some intra-ring characteristics in juvenile and mature
wood from two Douglas-fir genetic plantations established
in 1912 by the U.S. Forest Service. The experimental
material consisted of progeny from thirty families
representing ten provenances (3 families per provenance)
grown in two...