Phenotypic diversity analysis and superior family selection of seed traits in six Acer species in northeast China

Acer is a widely distributed genus containing many important medicinal and ornamental species. Thus, evaluating the germplasm resources of different Acer species is important. In this study, seed phenotypic traits of six Acer species (A. mono Maxim, A. mandshuricum Maxim, A. tegmentosum Maxim, A. ginnala Maxim, A. triflorum Komarov, and A. pseudosieboldianum (Pax) Komarov) were measured and analyzed to explore the relationships among different species. Variance analysis indicated that all investigated traits were significantly different among and within species (P < 0.05). Phenotypic variation coefficients and heritability of different traits ranged from 9.72% - 42.30% and 0.56 - 0.97, respectively. Correlation analysis indicated that all coefficients were positive and significant, except for that between wing width and shell rate. Cluster analysis showed that the six Acer species were clustered into three groups. Principal component analysis showed that the cumulative contribution rate of the first two principal components was 75.981%, indicating that these components contained most of the information on the investigated traits of the samples. According to multi-trait comprehensive evaluation, with the rate of 10%, six excellent families were selected, and the genetic gains for kilo-seed weight traits were above 11%. This research provides a basis for the protection, development, and utilization of Acer germplasm resources in northeast China.