Revealing the Application of Synchrotron-Based X-Ray Computed Tomography in Healthy Versus Unhealthy Interior Lodgepole Pine (<i>Pinus contorta</i> var. <i>latifolia</i>) Conelets.

ABSTRACT: The reproductive cycle of interior lodgepole pine spans approximately 26 months, with seed cones initiating in late summer, followed by pollen conelets emerging the next spring when pollination occurs. Fertilization and cone maturation occur in the subsequent spring and fall. Successful pollination, critical for seed conelet retention, requires an ~80% success rate. In June 2020, 30 pine clones (genotypes), with contrasting conelet abortion rates, were selected from a production seed orchard in Alberta, Canada. Sixty conelets per clone (30 aborted and 30 healthy) were collected for synchrotron radiation-based microcomputed tomography (SR-μCT) analysis. A subset of two contrasting clones (1401 and 596) was selected for detailed study. Conelets were transported to the Canadian Light Source i

SUBMITTER: Dykstra E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12620052 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature