Eco-morphology and molecular attributes of twisted and straight Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) growing in Uttarakhand: Central Himalaya of Indian Himalayan region

The hills of Uttarakhand in Indian Central Himalaya provide one of the best habitats of Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.; Gymnosperm; 2n= 24) forests which play an important role in the economy. Based on the available literature of Civil & Soyam, Department of Forest, Almora, Chir pine represents 81.43% of the district’s forest area. Five sites (Panwanaula, Majkhali, Matela, Dhaula Devi and Someshwar) in and around Almora have been analyzed for eco-morphological and segregating molecular profiles developed. Twenty trees of each trait (twisted vs straight) from dense pine forest (altitude range 1500-1900 m) were randomly selected. Two types of twisted characters were observed in the trees: (1) twist in anticlock direction which is initiated at the early stage of trees at an angle of approximately 70 and renders the plant not useful for commercial purposes, and (2) Clockwise twist is initiated at later stages. The ratio of twisted to straight pine trees in all the sites as observed in field surveys is about 1:1, and has also been recorded by Civil & Soyam, Department of Forest, Almora, was also observed in our field surveys. Genomic DNA of selected trees of each trait was isolated and used for amplification. A total of 40 RAPD and 10 ISSR primers were tested; more than 45% similarity was observed in both twisted and straight trees. When these data were used for construction of graphic phenogram, two separate groups of straight and twisted trees were observed. Interestingly some twisted trees (possessing approximately 7o or lower twist in the stem) were grouped along with straight trees. The results of this study will be helpful in developing strategies to segregate twisted and straight trait in Chir pine at an early stage not only for the plantation programmes but also for management purposes.