Biotechnology
Using Biotechnology to Restore the American Chestnut
The once-plentiful American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) was pushed to near extinction by two deadly diseases, chestnut blight and Phytophthora root rot (PRR), that were accidentally imported from Asia more than a hundred years ago.
The primary goal of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is to restore the American chestnut tree to its native range, which requires improving its disease resistance. To carry out this groundbreaking rescue mission, TACF has developed a comprehensive science program, reviewed by external panels of experts, that combines several strategies, including breeding and biotechnology.
What is biotechnology?
In general, biotechnology (or biotech) involves using laboratory techniques to manipulate organisms at the molecular or cellular level to answer questions or solve problems. These technologies can include genomics (the study of an organism’s complete set of genes), and genetic engineering (adding, editing, or deleting genes). As breeding methods advance, the line between biotech and breeding becomes blurred, and TACF’s breeding program is already employing biotech through its use of genomics. While biotech approaches may face significant hurdles, such as federal regulatory approval, they also have the potential of high rewards for forest health recovery.
TACF and Biotechnology
TACF and its partners have used biotechnology to
- Study the genetic diversity of American chestnut populations
- Identify regions of the Chinese and American chestnut genomes that are associated with disease resistance or susceptibility
- Generate lists of specific candidate genes, particularly from the Chinese chestnut tree, Castanea mollissima, that may be associated with disease resistance.
This knowledge could enable us to make more informed breeding choices than we can using traditional breeding, which relies on random genetic recombination. Ultimately biotechnology could be used to make genetically modified American chestnut trees that have high levels of heritable disease resistance.