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DNA markers identify hybrids between butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) and Japanese walnut (Juglans ailantifolia Carr.)

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Abstract

Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) is a temperate deciduous hardwood native to the eastern USA and southern Canada valued for its nuts and wood. Butternut’s survival is threatened by butternut canker, a disease caused by the exotic fungus Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum Nair, Kostichka & Kuntz. Field observations indicate that trees commonly called buartnut (a hybrid of butternut and its close congener Japanese walnut (Juglans ailantifolia × J. cinerea)) may be more resistant to butternut canker than is either parental species. Hybrids are difficult to distinguish morphologically from butternuts, and scientists have expressed concern over the possibility of range-wide genetic invasion by Japanese walnut via hybridization with butternut. We used pair-wise combinations of 40 random primers to screen bulked DNA pools of butternut, Japanese walnut, and buartnuts to identify genomic regions unique to Japanese walnut. We ultimately identified one ITS region marker, one chloroplast marker, one mitochondrial marker, and six nuclear markers. The utility of the markers for identifying hybrids was tested and verified using more than 190 genotypes. The markers will be used to identify buartnut hybrids based on the presence of introgressed genomic fragments inherited from Japanese walnut. We confirmed that hybrids have a complex genetic history and present features of the parental species in all possible combinations. These results will assist in the identification and testing of (non-hybrid) butternut for breeding and reintroduction of the species to its former habitats.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to John McLaughlin, Barbara Crane, and Paul Berrang for their helpful comments during the preparation of the manuscript. The use of trade names is for the information and convenience of the reader and does not imply official endorsement or approval by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Forest Service of any product to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. The authors thank Hannah Bergeman, James McKenna, Zhonglian Huang, and Lisa Worthen for their assistance and the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repositories in Davis, CA and Corvallis, OR for samples. Partial funding for this research was provided by the Indiana Nature Conservancy.

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  1. College of Forestry, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    Peng Zhao

  2. USDA Forest Service Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center (HTIRC), Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 715 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Keith E. Woeste

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  1. Peng Zhao
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  2. Keith E. Woeste
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Correspondence to Keith E. Woeste.

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Communicated by A. Kremer

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Zhao, P., Woeste, K.E. DNA markers identify hybrids between butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) and Japanese walnut (Juglans ailantifolia Carr.). Tree Genetics & Genomes 7, 511–533 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-010-0352-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-010-0352-4

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