Meta-Analysis as a Tool to Identify Candidate Genes Involved in the Fagus sylvatica L. Abiotic Stress Response

In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether candidate genes for abiotic stresses in Fagus sylvatica L. are also candidate genes for herbaceous plants, with the purpose of better defining the abiotic stress response model of F. sylvatica. Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed on published papers related to abiotic stress. Firstly, we carried out a systematic review regarding the activity of 24 candidate genes selected for F. sylvatica under abiotic stress reported in 503 articles. After choosing the inclusion criteria, 73 articles out of 503, regarding 12 candidate genes, were included in this analysis. We performed an exploratory meta-analysis based on the random-effect model and the combined effect-size approach (Cohen’s d). The results obtained through Forest and Funnel plots indicate that the candidate genes for F. sylvatica are considered to be candidate genes in other herbaceous species. These results allowed us to set up models of plants’ response to abiotic stresses implementing the stress models in forest species. The results of this study will serve to bridge knowledge gaps regarding the pathways of response to abiotic stresses in trees based on the meta-analysis. The study approach used could be extended to observe larger gene databases and different species.