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Developing Blight-Tolerant American Chestnut Trees
William A Powell1,2, Andrew E Newhouse2, Vernon Coffey2
1American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA.
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology
|May 22, 2019
Summary
Restoring the American chestnut involves genetically engineering blight tolerance using a wheat gene. This approach allows trees to coexist with the fungus, aiding forest ecosystem restoration.
Area of Science:
- Forestry
- Plant Pathology
- Genetic Engineering
Background:
- The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is functionally extinct due to an invasive fungal pathogen causing devastating blight.
- This loss impacts forest ecosystems where it was a keystone species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop blight-tolerant American chestnut trees for ecological restoration.
- To introduce a novel mechanism for disease tolerance through genetic engineering.
Main Methods:
- Incorporated an oxalate oxidase-encoding gene from wheat into American chestnut trees.
- The oxalate oxidase enzyme detoxifies oxalate produced by the fungal pathogen.
Main Results:
- The genetically engineered trees exhibit tolerance to the chestnut blight, allowing coexistence with the pathogen.
- This method avoids potential genetic incompatibilities seen in some chestnut hybrids.
Conclusions:
- Genetic engineering offers a promising strategy for restoring the American chestnut.
- This approach preserves native alleles crucial for habitat adaptation and ecosystem recovery.
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