Breakthrough at SUNY-ESF: Genetic engineering may save the nearly extinct American chestnut

No one has used genetic engineering to do something beneficial for the environment.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- In the first use of genetic engineering to save a species in the wild, SUNY researchers say they have created a new strain of blight-resistant American chestnut that could restore the majestic tree to the American landscape.

After 25 years of research, a pair of professors at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry say they have used a gene from wheat to create an American chestnut that could withstand the blight that wiped out up to 5 billion of the trees in the United States.

"It is tremendously satisfying to reach this level of success," said ESF professor Chuck Maynard, who worked with fellow professor William Powell to build the blight-resistant tree.

Before the blight nearly wiped out the trees by the 1950s, chestnuts ranged from Florida to Maine and comprised up to 25 percent of Eastern forests. Its rot-resistant wood was an important source of lumber for log cabins and railroad ties for an emerging nation. The nutrient-rich nuts provided food for wildlife and humans; the roasted nuts were so delicious they even inspired a Christmas song.

"The team has accomplished a major goal, the generation of a blight-resistant American chestnut tree," said Dr. Timothy Tschaplinski, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in a statement released by ESF. "The sum total of these efforts is a major step forward for the goal of restoration of American chestnut to the North American landscape."

Genetic engineering has been used to increase production of crops, particularly corn and soybean, and to make medicines such as insulin.

"No one has used genetic engineering to do something beneficial for the environment," Powell said. "This technique can be used for many species of trees that are threatened by disease. It goes beyond the American chestnut."

ESF's American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project has long been one of the leaders in the movement to restore the tree to the landscape.

Developing a blight-resistant chestnut was a long and tedious process. Through trial-and-error, Powell and Maynard tried 30 genes, extracting them and then using bacteria to deliver the genes to individual chestnut cells. Each of those cells had to grow into trees large enough to test for blight resistance. The first attempt took 2.5 years, Powell said.

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Breakthrough at SUNY-ESF: Genetic engineering may save the nearly extinct American chestnut