Genetic Versus Environmental Influence on Radial Variation in Myracrodruon urundeuva Wood

Abstract

We hypothesized that Myracrodruon urundeuva trees of two provenances with different genotypes would present variations influenced by their origin terms of anatomy and specific gravity when planted in an environment different from their seed origin, but under the same environmental conditions. We investigated radial variation in 12 trees. The observation that only vessel frequency and fiber length showed the same pattern of radial variation in the two provenances indicate that radial variation in M. urundeuva seems to depend on the origin of the seeds, that is, a genetic factor, rather than on the influence of climate and soil, which repreent environmental factors. We noticed marked differences in all features when comparing the same growth rings in each provenance, a result that reinforces the genetic influence on wood formation. We conclude that the studied plants maintain their wood structure as a result of genetic information, as selected by climatic conditions of seed original area, and possibly due to the highly conservative wood anatomy.