Estimation of adaptive genetic variation in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) to climate change

The main objective of this study was to investigate an adaptive genetic potential in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) across the European Alps. In this study we used a genomic approach on a 384 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Illumina GodenGate genotyping assay to investigate adaptive genetic variation within a population composed of 392 individuals provided with geo-reference data. Genotyping analyses provided insight in to the rate of success with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) genotyping and revealed failure in case of 26% SNPs where most of these loci originated from Arborea dataset (Canada) on white spruce (Picea glauca). Both outlier and gene-environment association analyses were performed on dataset containing polymorphic loci and revealed no presence of loci under the selection as well as no strong correlation between allele frequencies and environmental gradients. This study was one of several exploratory studies of adaptive genetic potential in Norway spruce by using landscape genomics approaches. Limitations of this study were due to the relative small number of loci. As a future perspective, genome wide association studies or genotype to phenotype approach as well as genotype to environment when at least 1000 loci included, would be challenging in case of this organism and certainly would provide more power in search for signal of selection.