A roadmap of apical bud formation in white spruce identifies potential regulators of time to bud set

Background Bud development is an adaptation that temperate forest trees have acquired to survive inclement winter conditions and resume growth the following spring. Bud development is a complex physiological and developmental process comprising bud formation, cold and desiccation tolerance development, and dormancy acquisition [1]. Because bud formation is accompanied by growth cessation, the timing of bud formation represents a trade-off between acquisition of winter hardiness and duration of active growth [2]. This is particularly true for determinate species such as white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss), where preformed stem units contained within the apical bud constitute most of next season’s growth. Timing of bud set in white spruce shows genetic variation [3]. Our goal is to identify genes that exert genetic control over time to bud set in white spruce. As first steps towards that goal, we have conducted microarray gene expression profiling of shoot tips during the transition from active growth to dormancy in white spruce, and identified candidate regulators of bud formation by comparing these differentially expressed (DE) genes to results obtained from QTL analyses of time to bud set conducted using the same genes as molecular markers.