Identification of SNPs in candidate genes related to water stress in Eucalyptus

Background Forestry companies have occupied Northern and Northeastern of Brazil with plantations of Eucalyptus species; however, limitations on water supply are affecting the biomass production and reducing the yield significantly [1].Tolerant plants develop defense mechanisms like hormone production of abscisic acid (ABA) and osmoprotector glycine betain (GB) when submitted to drought conditions [2]. Identifying and studying genomic regions related to water stress tolerance are important for tree improvement programs. In this work, SNPs in candidate genes, 9-cis-epoxy-carotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) and choline monooxygenase (CMO), of ABA and GB biosynthetic pathways related to drought tolerance in a population of Eucalyptus were identified, as well as, a possible molecular marker associated to genomic regions related to plant response to water stress through AFLP technique [3] combined with bulk segregant analysis method [4].