Variation and inheritance of terpenes in scots pine

Abstract

AbstractQualitative and quantitative variation of some terpene compounds in pine needles was determined using static headspace gas chromatography (HSGC) in order to obtain information about the inheritance and gene control of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) terpenes. Needles of more than 600 trees or seedlings belonging to a control‐pollinated and its open‐pollinated progeny were analysed. The terpenes were identified by headspace gas chromatographic‐mass spectrometric techniques. The terpene patterns obtained by HSGC for the needle volatile fraction and by GC for the hydrodistilled needle volatile oil did not differ much. The hybrids obtained in the control‐pollinated crosses were either the high or low 3‐carene chemotype. Their open‐pollinated seedlings were also of these two chemotypes. The quantitative variation in the terpene concentrations permitted construction of a frequency distribution diagram for each terpene compound. The evidence from the bimodal distribution indicates that the relative amounts of monoterpenes p‐pinene, sabinene, 3‐carene, myrcene and terpinolene in Pinus sylvestris L. are simply inherited, i.e. controlled by a single gene with major gene effects. The rest of the monoterpenes and all the sesquiterpenes were normally distributed and their inheritance thus seems to be of a polygenie nature.