Adaptive properties of Picea abies progenies are influenced by environmental signals during sexual reproduction

Summary Several independent tests have shown that climate and weather during sexual reproduction influence the adaptive properties of the Picea abies progenies. This phenomenon is expressed in seed orchards established by moving parent trees, propagated as grafts, from north to south, from high to low elevation, or from outdoor to indoor greenhouse conditions. The progenies exhibit delayed flushing in the spring, later growth cessation of leader shoots in the summer, delayed bud-set, higher frequency of lammas shoots and delayed development of frost hardiness in the autumn compared to progenies reproduced in the colder native environment. The altered performance is persistent. We have found no effect on progenies of photoperiod and temperature treatments given to the males during meiosis and pollen production. However, when crosses were made in early spring (March), inside a heated greenhouse (short day, high temperature), the progenies are less frost hardy during cold acclimation than progenies from identical crosses performed in late spring (May; long day high temperature) in the greenhouse. The most hardy offspring were from crosses performed under outdoor conditions in May (long day, low temperature). These results indicate that some stages in reproduction, such as female meiosis, pollen tube growth, syngamy and early embryo development, are sensitive to temperature and/or photoperiod which then alter the phenotypic performance of the offspring. The most likely explanation is the existence of a regulatory mechanism affecting the expression of genes controlling adaptive traits. If this is true, it must have implications for the genetic interpretation of provenance differences in Norway spruce.