Genetic structure and diversity of four Chinese fir breeding populations over 60 years. Feng, Q., Chen, Z., Zhao, B., Zhang, L., Su, S., Zhang, X., Chen, Y., El-Kassaby, Y. A., Wu, H. X., & Bian, L. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 22(5):29, August, 2026. ![Genetic structure and diversity of four Chinese fir breeding populations over 60 years [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) is the most commercially important conifer species in southern China. Since 2015, the Fujian Province has launched its fourth cycle of genetic improvement, yet the impact of intensive artificial selection for growth and wood quality traits on the genetic diversity of advanced-cycle populations remains unclear. In this study, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to genotype 310 individuals sampled from four consecutive breeding populations (first to fourth cycle). Across cycles, diversity indices remained relatively stable, with the fourth-cycle population showing slightly higher values (Ho = 0.325, He = 0.272). The broadening of breeding objectives to include wood quality and resistance traits, together with the introduction of external elite germplasm from the second cycle onward, may have contributed to this balance. Consequently, genetic differentiation among the populations from different breeding cycles was minimal (Fst \textless 0.01). Comparison of the genomic and pedigree-based relationship matrices revealed discrepancies for some pairs, indicating that genomic estimates provide complementary information for characterizing relatedness. Overall, genetic diversity was maintained across the four breeding cycles. These results provide a genomic basis for managing genetic diversity and relatedness in advanced-cycle Chinese fir breeding.
@article{feng_genetic_2026,
title = {Genetic structure and diversity of four {Chinese} fir breeding populations over 60 years},
volume = {22},
issn = {1614-2950},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-026-01750-z},
doi = {10.1007/s11295-026-01750-z},
abstract = {Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) is the most commercially important conifer species in southern China. Since 2015, the Fujian Province has launched its fourth cycle of genetic improvement, yet the impact of intensive artificial selection for growth and wood quality traits on the genetic diversity of advanced-cycle populations remains unclear. In this study, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to genotype 310 individuals sampled from four consecutive breeding populations (first to fourth cycle). Across cycles, diversity indices remained relatively stable, with the fourth-cycle population showing slightly higher values (Ho = 0.325, He = 0.272). The broadening of breeding objectives to include wood quality and resistance traits, together with the introduction of external elite germplasm from the second cycle onward, may have contributed to this balance. Consequently, genetic differentiation among the populations from different breeding cycles was minimal (Fst {\textless} 0.01). Comparison of the genomic and pedigree-based relationship matrices revealed discrepancies for some pairs, indicating that genomic estimates provide complementary information for characterizing relatedness. Overall, genetic diversity was maintained across the four breeding cycles. These results provide a genomic basis for managing genetic diversity and relatedness in advanced-cycle Chinese fir breeding.},
language = {en},
number = {5},
urldate = {2026-09-02},
journal = {Tree Genetics \& Genomes},
author = {Feng, Qihang and Chen, Zhi-Qiang and Zhao, Benwen and Zhang, Long and Su, Shunde and Zhang, Xie and Chen, Yu and El-Kassaby, Yousry A. and Wu, Harry X. and Bian, Liming},
month = aug,
year = {2026},
keywords = {Breeding population, Chinese fir, Genetic diversity, Genomic kinship},
pages = {29},
}
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In this study, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to genotype 310 individuals sampled from four consecutive breeding populations (first to fourth cycle). Across cycles, diversity indices remained relatively stable, with the fourth-cycle population showing slightly higher values (Ho = 0.325, He = 0.272). The broadening of breeding objectives to include wood quality and resistance traits, together with the introduction of external elite germplasm from the second cycle onward, may have contributed to this balance. Consequently, genetic differentiation among the populations from different breeding cycles was minimal (Fst \\textless 0.01). Comparison of the genomic and pedigree-based relationship matrices revealed discrepancies for some pairs, indicating that genomic estimates provide complementary information for characterizing relatedness. Overall, genetic diversity was maintained across the four breeding cycles. 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Hook.) is the most commercially important conifer species in southern China. Since 2015, the Fujian Province has launched its fourth cycle of genetic improvement, yet the impact of intensive artificial selection for growth and wood quality traits on the genetic diversity of advanced-cycle populations remains unclear. In this study, genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to genotype 310 individuals sampled from four consecutive breeding populations (first to fourth cycle). Across cycles, diversity indices remained relatively stable, with the fourth-cycle population showing slightly higher values (Ho = 0.325, He = 0.272). The broadening of breeding objectives to include wood quality and resistance traits, together with the introduction of external elite germplasm from the second cycle onward, may have contributed to this balance. Consequently, genetic differentiation among the populations from different breeding cycles was minimal (Fst {\\textless} 0.01). 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