Birgit Ziegenhagen

Philipps University of Marburg | PUM

Habitat loss and degradation due to human-induced landscape alterations are considered to be a major threat to biodiversity. The decline of biodiversity may occur with a time delay leading to a so called extinction debt. Therefore, determining extinction risks and conservation status is not always straightforward. Several life history traits might...

Global warming is predicted to exert negative impacts on plant growth due to the damaging effect of high temperatures on plant physiology. Revealing the genetic architecture underlying the heat stress response is therefore crucial for the development of conservation strategies, and for breeding heat-resistant plant genotypes. Here we investigated t...

Global warming is predicted to exert negative impacts on plant growth due to the damaging effect of high temperatures on plant physiology. Revealing the genetic architecture underlying the heat stress response is therefore crucial for the development of conservation strategies, and for breeding heat-resistant plant genotypes. Here we investigated t...

This chapter deals with two emblematic species of the Argentine forests: Araucaria araucana, a conifer with a restricted distribution area and considered a living fossil, and Salix humboldtiana, a willow with a continental distribution but the only native to this country and particularly threatened in Patagonia. Each species is presented in a separ...

Abstract (Paper is in German language!) Successful action in conservation calls for close exchange and effective feedback between science and practitioners at all levels. However, many examples and experiences indicate that this mutual exchange does not function optimally nor according to requirements. From the authors' point of view, there is a ne...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Increasingly large proportions of tropical forests are anthropogenically disturbed. Where natural regeneration is possible at all, it requires the input of plant seeds through seed dispersal from the forest matrix. Zoochorous seed dispersal – the major seed dispersal mode for woody plants in tropical forests – is particularly important for natural...

Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is a keystone conifer of European montane forest ecosystems that has experienced large fluctuations in population size during during the Quaternary and, more recently, due to land-use change. To forecast the species' future distribution and survival, it is important to investigate the genetic basis of adaptation to env...

Genetic association studies in forest trees would greatly benefit from information on the response of trees to environmental stressors over time, which can be provided by dendroecological analysis. Here, we jointly analyzed dendroecological and genetic data of surviving silver fir trees to explore the genetic basis of their response to the iconic s...

Biodiversity is being lost at alarming rates in spite of efforts to conserve ecosystems, species and genetic diversity. There is broad consensus that biodiversity conservation needs to become more effective, and this requires an analysis of the causes that have prevented previous efforts from reaching their goal. A lack of knowledge exchange and co...

Including population genetic aspects into the selection of planting material within the framework of conservation and restoration measures is of vital importance for the long-term persistence of populations. This is especially true facing climate change since genetic diversity and the spread of potentially beneficial alleles are important for the a...

Genetic association studies in forest tress would greatly benefit from information on tree response to environmental stressors over time. Dendroecology can close this gap by providing such time series measurements. Here, we jointly analyzed dendroecological and genetic data to explore the genetic basis of resistance, recovery and resilience to epis...

Hybridization and introgression via interspecific gene flow are common processes in the plant kingdom. The effectiveness of these processes is governed by the strengths of multiple zygotic barriers. These barriers have often been quantified in artificial settings using laborious and time‐consuming hand‐pollination experiments, but their quantificat...

Phylogenetic niche conservatism (PNC) is the tendency of species within a clade to retain ancestral traits and to persist in their primary ecological niches on geological time scales. It links evolutionary and ecological processes and has been hypothesized to explain patterns of species richness and the composition of species assemblages. Decreasin...

A novel set of SNPs was derived from transcriptome data of ten Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees from the Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany (BaFoNP). SNPs were identified by mapping against a de-novo transcriptome assembly and against pre-mRNAs of predicted genes of the reference genome assembly. This resulted in 111,849 and 366,577 SNPs, re...

Community genetics in the time of next generation molecular technologies

Understanding local adaptation in forest trees is currently a key research and societal priority. Geographically and ecologically marginal populations provide ideal case studies, because environmental stress along with reduced gene flow can facilitate the establishment of locally adapted populations. We sampled European silver fir (Abies alba Mill....

Increasing drought periods as a result of global climate change pose a threat to many tree species by possibly outpacing their adaptive capabilities. Revealing the genetic basis of drought stress response is therefore implemental for future conservation strategies and risk assessment. Access to informative genomic regions is however challenging, es...

We present a set of 23 polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci, 18 of which are identified for the first time within the riparian species Salix humboldtiana (Salicaceae) using next-generation sequencing. To characterize the 23 loci, up to 60 individuals were sampled and genotyped at each locus. The number of alleles ranged from two to eight, with a...

Key message The Neotropical tree Parkia panurensis shows a spatial genetic structure from the seed to the adult stage that is most likely the outcome of the seed dispersal provided by primates. Abstract Seed dispersal and pollination determine the gene flow within plant populations. In addition, seed dispersal creates the template for subsequent...

The high absorption coefficient of liquid water in the THz regime makes THz systems an excellent tool for performing in-vivo measurements of biological tissue in the context of drought stress experiments. For realistic applications there are different approaches to obtain such measurements, which are discussed herein.

Concerns have been expressed that research methods and research infrastructure may affect the systems under study, which could lead to biased results. Effects of research activities on seedlings, saplings, and understory plants that are subjected to trampling and injury have been demonstrated. However, as of yet, no effects on epiphytic plants have...

We present a novel measurement setup for monitoring changes in the leaf water status using non-destructive terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Previous studies on a variety of plants showed the principal applicability of THz-TDS. In such setups decreasing leaf water content directly correlates with increasing terahertz transmission. Our n...

Understanding the interactions of co-occurring species within and across trophic levels provides key information needed for understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie biological diversity. As genetics has only recently been integrated into the study of community-level interactions, the time is right for a critical evaluat...

• Premise of the study: We present a protocol for the annotation of transcriptome sequence data and the identification of candidate genes therein using the example of the nonmodel conifer Abies alba. • Methods and Results: A normalized cDNA library was built from an A. alba seedling. The sequencing on a 454 platform yielded more than 1.5 million re...

The EC-supported Network of Excellence Evoltree (http://www.evoltree.eu) formed a group of scientists involved in and actively contributing to Jointly Executed Research Activities on community genetics in forest ecosystems. In addition to the main authors, the group includes S. Augu-stin, M. Brandle, C. Burban, J. Burczyk, S. Cavers, I. Chybicki, C...

In recent decades, invasive willows and poplars (Salicaceae) have built dense floodplain forests along most of the rivers in Patagonia, Argentina. These invasion processes may affect Salix humboldtiana as the only native floodplain tree species in this region. It is assumed, that the property to reproduce vegetatively can play an important role in...

In the plant kingdom, a large percentage of taxa are known to interbreed. If these hybrids are fertile, introgressive gene flow may foster the development of hybrid swarms or even promote gene swamping. Our study focuses on the Eurasian black poplar (Populus nigra L.) which may be threatened by hybridization with the cultivated fertile Euramerican...

a b s t r a c t In Central Europe, floodplain fragmentation by dykes and river regulation by dams has led to a fundamen-tal loss of riparian softwood forests and dramatically restricted natural regeneration of the Salicaceae species involved. As a consequence, reforestation is one of the widely-used measures to maintain this valuable vegetation typ...

Seed dispersal is an important factor influencing the genetic structure of forest tree populations. Knowledge about the seed shadow is important to assess the ability of tree species to colonize new and disturbed habitats or to respond to environmental change by migrating to more suitable habitats. In a seed trap experiment, we investigated local s...

Determining the distances over which seeds are dispersed is a crucial component for examining spatial patterns of seed dispersal and their consequences for plant reproductive success and population structure. However, following the fate of individual seeds after removal from the source tree till deposition at a distant place is generally extremely...

Die morphologische Unterscheidung von Sorten und Klonen in der Gattung Populus ist aufgrund ihrer ausgeprägten phänotypischen Plastizität schwierig [1]. Voraussetzung für die Züchtung neuer Sorten ist immer die Evaluierung bestehender Klonsammlungen. Wichtig ist dabei, die aufgrund ihrer Langlebigkeit in Klonsammlungen Jahrzehnte überdauernden Bäum...

This article is a summary report of the international conference "Forest ecosystem genomics and adaptation" organized by the EVOLTREE Network of Excellence in San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid), Spain, from 9 to 11 June 2010. Main achievements and results of the network are presented for the eight thematic sessions and a stakeholder session. The c...

This article is a summary report of the international conference "Forest ecosystem genomics and adaptation" organized by the EVOLTREE Network of Excellence in San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid), Spain, from 9 to 11 June 2010. Main achievements and results of the network are presented for the eight thematic sessions and a stakeholder session. The c...

The widespread European forest tree Fagus sylvatica L. is of great importance for forest management. However, information about seed dispersal is still very rare, though important for harvesting strategies and later on seed source identification. We refined a DNA fingerprinting method for beech nut shells in order to directly assign dispersed seeds...

This study describes the application of previously characterized chloroplast microsatellites as markers for paternity analysis in a conifer species. The investigations were performed on silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) relic trees in an endangered population of the Ore Mountains (Germany). Two relatively isolated adult trees about 30 m apart, as well...

In contrast to many plant species, which had not survived in Central Europe during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and therefore recolonized from various southern or eastern refugia, we put forward the hypothesis that Juniperus communis L., a species with large ecological amplitude, could have survived in a cold steppe-like biome of the LGM througho...

The European black poplar (Populus nigra L.) is a major species of riparian softwood forests. Due to human influences, it is one of the most threatened tree species in Europe. For restoration purposes, remaining stands may act as source populations. We analysed a nat- ural population of P. nigra for genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure u...

Fragmentation of the habitat due to glaciations, fires and human activities affected the distribution range of Araucaria araucana in southern South America. On the borders of the Argentinean Patagonian steppe, the species is restricted to isolated patches without natural regeneration. Our objective is to test the hypothesis that these populations a...

We present here a set of nine polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci, identified for the first time within the neotropical legume tree species Parkia panurensis Benth. ex H. C. Hopkins, which is widespread in western and central Amazonia. To characterize these loci, 33 Parkia panurensis adult trees were analyzed. The number of alleles ranged from...

Willows of the Salix alba–Salix fragilis complex, native to western Eurasia, represent typical invaders of floodplain ecosystems worldwide. Introduced to South America by European settlers probably at the end of the nineteenth century, their distribution has increased significantly along the rivers in Northern Patagonia. This case study carried out...

Because of heterogeneous topographies, high-mountain areas could harbor a significant pool of cryptic forest refugia (glacial microrefugia unrecognized by palaeodata), which, as a result of poor accessibility, have been largely overlooked. The juniper forests of the southern Tibetan Plateau, with one of the highest tree lines worldwide, are ideal f...

A correct identification of members of the poplar hybrid complex Populus × canadensis is essential in breeding programs and studies in introgressive gene flow. Molecular marker protocols have been developed for this purpose. However, due to missing standards, these techniques have so far not been suited to the transfer of results between different...

The diversification and distribution of Abies species throughout the Mediterranean region has led to a complex of species which are difficult to classify. An open question is whether these mainly allopatric taxa have exchanged genetic information via secondary contact. We studied the variation and geographic distribution of paternally inherited chl...

We present a range-wide synthesis of our own research and related work on the complex postglacial history of Abies alba Mill. It is based on macroremains, fossil pollen records as well as on different genetic markers. The geographic distribution of genetic lineages and allele frequencies together with the fossil records confirm multiple refugia wit...

It is known that various poplar species and cultivated poplar hybrids have the potential to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Conservation strategies for the genetic resources of the endangered Eurasian black poplar (Populus nigra L.) thus rely on a monitoring which enables the identification and verification of the pure species status. At...

The reconstruction of biological processes and human activities during the last glacial cycle relies mainly on data from biological remains. Highly abundant tissues, such as wood, are candidates for a genetic analysis of past populations. While well-authenticated DNA has now been recovered from various fossil remains, the final 'proof' is still mis...

Eleven polymorphic nuclear microsatellite markers for Abies alba Mill. were developed from an enriched genomic library. An average of 5.2 alleles per locus and a mean expected heterozygosity of 0.532 were found in a sample of 24 Abies alba individuals from different populations within Europe. These loci can be used in studies of genetic diversity f...

We developed five nuclear microsatellite markers in Juniperus communis L. using an enriched library method. Samples from 28 juniper individuals were collected in Spain, Germany and Slovakia and were analysed at the five loci. A high level of allelic diversity with values ranging from nine to 23 alleles was found. These highly polymorphic markers wi...

Former controlled crosses between twelve Pinus montana var. rostrata (Pinus mugo complex) and eight P. sylvestris clones revealed that only two P. sylvestris had efficiently fertilised P. montana. Two species-diagnostic chloroplast DNA markers were applied to verify the species purity of the parental clones. All maternal P. montana were unambiguous...

Currently many attempts are made to reconstruct the colonization history of plant species after the last ice age. A surprising finding is that during the colonization phase genetic diversity did not decrease as much as expected. In this paper we examine whether long distance seed dispersal events could play a role in the unexpected maintenance of g...

The unambiguous identification of closely related species is useful for many practical purposes in forest tree species. For example, international laws require timber identification and the control of the origin of forest reproductive material. In this paper, we present a mitochondrial DNA marker which can be used to differentiate among groups of f...

Using PCR-RFLP analysis, a comparative study on the restriction site polymorphism within 8 genes and regions of the Abies chloroplast DNA has been conducted covering 15 Asian, 6 North American and 7 Mediterranean species. A variable degree of divergence was observed among individual species of a given region as well as between geographical groups....

Thirty silver fir populations originating from the putative suture zones of the postglacial recolonization (Slovenia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Ukraine) were studied using a mitochondrial nad5-4 gene marker. The geographical distribution of mtDNA haplotypes in the Ukrainian Carpathians and their northern foothills indicates a very recent meeting of m...

Embryogenesis and plant regeneration have been obtained from isolated immature pollen of two poplar hybrids (Populus nigra L. x hybrid 'Aue1' and 'Aue2'). In total, 1487 calli or embryos, respectively, larger than 1 mm were generated in a 2-year study. By using a cytokinin containing induction medium, on average 19 calli per responsive immature cat...

The present paper reports on the genetic differentiation of single trees in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) using a combined approach of isozyme gene markers with cpDNA-microsatellite markers. The question was whether it is possible to distinguish single trees by analysing a sample of their seeds. For this purpose needles or buds and seed samples fro...

We have extracted total DNA from different fractions of fresh wood as well as from cold-stored and air-dried wood harvested from transgenic aspen grown in the field. The highest amounts of DNA were obtained from bark/cambium tissue; the DNA quality, however, was poor. Best results in PCR and Southern blot analyses were obtained from DNA extracted f...

We present a genetic analysis in a natural population of wild cherry (Prunus miurn L.) in northern Germany. Seven microsatellite markers that had originally been characterised in peach were used to describe the genetic variation and the spatial genetic structure of a single population with 75 adult trees. Four to nine alleles and a heterozygosity f...

Genetic structure of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) populations in Slovakia was analyzed using a PCR-RFLP approach. Based on the original finding of ZIEGENHAGEN and FLADUNG (1997), the variation in the cpDNA region consisting of coding and intergenic spacer sequences of the trnS and psbC genes was tested in 285 individuals representing 8 populations...

Today’s distribution of genetic diversity in plants is to a large extent shaped by historical and recent gene flow mediated by seeds and pollen. It is only recently that in certain plant species DNA markers with contrasting modes of inheritance have been explored. Such markers are desired to differentiate between seed-and pollen-mediated gene flow....

1) We investigated spatial genetic patterns in the clonal herbaceous plant species Galium odoratum L., which has previously been shown to be significantly associated with ancient woodlands. 2) A maternally inherited chloroplast DNA marker was developed for G. odoratum. Seven chloroplast haplotypes were detected in the study area and mapped at diff...

Nuclear microsatellites were characterized in Prunus avium and validated as markers for individual and cultivar identification, as well as for studies of pollen- and seed-mediated gene flow. We used 20 primer pairs from a simple sequence repeat (SSR) library of Prunus persica and identified 7 loci harboring polymorphic microsatellite sequences in P...

Transfer of genes by pollen or wind-dispersed seed is considered a main potential risk when field release experiments with transgenic trees are initiated. In Germany, the first release experiment with genetically transformed trees was initiated in 1996. To ensure that the transgenic trees remained in the vegetative phase, the duration of the experi...

The applicability of DNA markers to purely maternal tissues has been scarcely addressed in trees. We have focused on non-parenchymatic maternal tissues of the fruits and seeds of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and investigated whether they can be used for a direct molecular identification of the mother trees. T...