Author: Chau Tu
Date: article published Dec. 22 2014
Website: Science Friday
Link: http://www.sciencefriday.com/blogs/12/22/2014/picture-of-the-week-transgenic-american-chestnuts.html
Summary:
For almost 100 years, the American chestnut has been “spiraling towards extinction,” according to Charles Maynard, a professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). At the turn of the 20th century an exotic fungus called Cryphonectria parasitica, which originated from imported Japanese chestnut trees that were resistant to the parasite, destroyed the American chestnuts. The fungus spread across its natural range in less than 50 years, infecting close to 100% of the population. Researchers at SUNY-ESF have been developing a blight-resistant chestnut tree. They needed to find a blight-resistant gene that could be incorporated into the American chestnut tree genome. William A. Powell’s lab discovered a gene from wheat that makes an enzyme that detoxifies oxalic acid, breaking it down into hydrogen peroxide and carbon dioxide—both chemicals that chestnut trees can use to fight the fungus. Another lab has focused on incorporating this gene into American chestnut tree embryos derived from the plant's somatic cells. These embryos are regenerated into whole plants. Earlier in the year, the American Chestnut Restoration Project team announced that it was successful in developing a blight-resistant chestnut. So far 18 lines of trees, have demonstrated good blight resistance, says Powell. After the researchers funnel the trials to find the most successful plants, they will apply for approval from the FDA, the USDA, and the EPA. Powell estimates that the process will take about five years, after which they will distribute the trees to the public.
Explanation:
This article referred to two units we have studied so far: the unit on heredity, and the first unit on biomes and the environment. The American chestnut trees are transgenic. Transgenic describes an organism whose genome has been altered through the addition of a foreign gene from a completely different species. The researchers are have added a gene from wheat into chestnut trees, in order to make them resistant to the fungus. We learned that invasive species are organisms that are not native to the land that they are 'invading' and that they have a negative impact on the species around them. This fungus was actually brought along by imported Japanese chestnut trees that were resistant. The Japanese trees can be called an invasive species, because they caused a harmful fungus to spread thus causing a decrease in the population of the American chestnut trees. These trees were obviously not native to North America and did not grow in a similar environment.
Does the article give the likelihood of approval by the FDA?
ReplyDeleteNot exactly, but it does say that to get the approval would take about five years, meaning there would most likely be some resistance to the idea at first but they would eventually allow the trees to be distributed among the public. It seems pretty likely that it will be approved in the future.
DeleteWill these blight resistant genes cause harm/or negative impact on any surrounding organisms benefited from the chestnut tree, such as animals?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the tests performed so far, no reports of any negative impacts on surrounding organisms have surfaced. However, the trees have not been given to the public to use yet, so there is no way to know whether or not that could lead to environmental damage. I predict that there will be some unforeseen side effects, as there often are, like with the deadly fungus from the imported Japanese trees.
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