Identification of SNPs in candidate genes potentially involved in bud burst in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is one of the most important deciduous tree species in Central Europe. Higher annual mean temperatures caused by climate change lead to earlier bud burst in spring and/or a delay of leaf senescence in autumn. Since earlier bud burst might increase the late frost risk, adaptive traits like bud burst may gain more importance in the future. Nevertheless, knowledge of the genetic background of leaf unfolding is still scarce for European beech. In the present study, we analyzed parts of ten different candidate genes for bud burst with a total length of 12,290 bp. Comparative sequencing with plant material of 12 different beech populations distributed over Germany revealed 116 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and 20 indels. A subset of 46 SNPs was successfully used for genotyping of 100 offspring of a beech population in Germany confirming the suitability of the newly developed SNP set for population genetic studies. The provided data may be useful for further investigations of adaptation in F. sylvatica.