The future of forest genetics

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The future of forest genetics

• Toby Bradshaw
• Department of Biology
• University of Washington
• toby_at_u.washington.edu

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Human demand for wood and fiber is increasing

• Population growth
• Lumber
• Paper
• Fuel
• More agricultural land needed to grow food for
  humans less land for forests and wilderness
• Biobased economy
• Biological raw materials augment and eventually
  replace petroleum to achieve sustainability

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http//www.wri.org
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The Great RestorationDavid Victor and Jesse
Ausubel
Skinhead Earth
http//phe.rockefeller.edu/restoringforests/
Pre-agricultural 6000 B.C.
1990s
Great Restoration
Non-forest, non-ag
Wild forest
Increasing the yield of industrial forests is key!
Agriculture
Industrial forest
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The upside potential for yield
non-growing season 22
reflectance, respiration, etc. 21
net photosynthesis 1

• A 1 increase in conversion of solar energy to
  fixed carbon will double biomass yield

non-PAR 56
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What is a GMO?

• Genetically Modified Organism
• Asexual gene (DNA) transfer (genetic
  engineering/GE)
• Unlimited gene pool
• Research tool
• Pharmaceuticals
• Crops (Frankenfood)
• Livestock?
• Forest trees?
• Fish?
• Humans?

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Gene transfer (transformation)

• Typical traits engineered into crops
• Herbicide resistance (e.g., Roundup Ready)
• Insect resistance (Bt toxin)
• Vitamin A (golden rice)
• Fruit firmness (Flavr Savr tomato)

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Why genetically engineer forest trees?

• Basic research to discover how trees work, and
  which genes are responsible for the unique
  biological features of trees
• Increase wood yield and quality by accelerating
  progress in applied tree breeding for plantation
  forests
• Improve environmental quality by restoring
  endangered tree species (chestnut, elm) and by
  using GE trees for phytoremediation of toxic waste

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Traits being genetically engineered in forest
trees

• Gene traps to discover genes involved in tree
  growth and development

Photo courtesy of Andrew Groover, Institute of
Forest Genetics
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Traits being genetically engineered in forest
trees

• Herbicide resistance (weed control)
• Insect resistance (leaf beetle, budworm)

Transgenic
Non-transgenic
Photos courtesy of Rick Meilan, Tree Genetic
Engineering Research Cooperative
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Traits being genetically engineered in forest
trees

• Lignin reduction (reduced chemical use, waste,
  and energy consumption in pulping)
• Reproductive sterility (prevention of transgene
  escape)

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Traits being genetically engineered in forest
trees

• Phytoremediation (removal of toxic wastes)
• Disease resistance (chestnut blight, Dutch elm
  disease)

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Traits of the future

• Growth/yield (wood, fiber, renewable energy)
• Wood quality (strength, stiffness, straightness,
  few knots)
• Tolerance of cold, drought, salt
• Novel photosynthetic pathways
• Self-pulping wood
• Farmaceuticals
• Industrial chemical feedstocks
• DOMESTICATION

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Where are we now and where will we be?
?
?
Effect of mutations
refinement
domestication
Number of mutations
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Potential benefits of GE trees

• Accelerates tree breeding/domestication
• Increased plantation yield spares wilderness
• Tolerance of harsh environments
• Reduced use of chemical pesticides
• Improved product quality
• Novel products (e.g., pharmaceuticals, industrial
  raw materials)
• Economically and environmentally sustainable wood
  production

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Concerns about GE trees

• Environmental risk (transgene escape, weediness,
  effects on non-target species)
• Corporate control of forestry
• Unnatural breaching of species barrier
• Unethical (e.g., playing God)

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Who opposes tree genetic engineering research?

• Earth Liberation Front You cannot control what
  is wild.
• Greenpeace moratorium on all field research with
  transgenic plants
• Forest Stewardship Council denies certification
  to entities conducting field research on
  transgenic trees

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Forest Stewardship Council

• The use of exotic species shall be carefully
  controlled and actively monitored to avoid
  adverse ecological impacts.
• No species should be planted on a large scale
  until local trials and/or experience have shown
  that they are ecologically well-adapted to the
  site, are not invasive, and do not have
  significant negative ecological impacts on other
  ecosystems.

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From the ELF communiquè

• "Bradshaw, the driving force in G.E. tree
  research, continues to unleash mutant genes into
  the environment that is sic certain to cause
  irreversible harm to forest ecosystems. As long
  as universities continue to pursue this reckless
  'science, they run the risk of suffering severe
  losses. Our message remains clear, we are
  determined to stop genetic engineering."

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From the ELF website

• There were a total of 137 illegal direct actions
  in North America in 2001 72 of those were for
  animal liberation, 51 for earth liberation, and
  14 against GMO/GE.
• The firebombing of CUH was the single biggest
  direct action by the ELF in 2001, and the
  second largest ever.

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From the ELF FAQ
Setting Fires With Electrical Timers - An Earth
Liberation Front Guide

• The ELF targets have included such issues as
  deforestation (for human development of roadways,
  for luxurious living and/or recreation areas, for
  profit by selling or using trees, etc.), urban
  sprawl, genetic engineering, natural habitat and
  ecosystem destruction, the use of slave labor by
  corporations and more.

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Effects of terrorism onscientific research

• Attempts to suppress academic freedom and basic
  research
• Increases costs of research
• Drives research out of public institutions and
  into private hands
• Diverts talented researchers into less
  controversial areas
• May negatively impact research funding

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US National Research Council/National Academy of
Sciences position on GE and conventional plant
breeding

• The same physical and biological laws govern the
  response of organisms modified by modern
  molecular and cellular methods and those produced
  by classical methods.

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Who said this?

• The time has come rich opportunity shines
  forth for the timber extraction industry to
  shift to tree farming on already converted land.
  The cultivation of lumber and pulp should be
  conducted like the agribusiness it is, using
  high-quality, fast-growing species and strains
  for higher productivity and profit.
• From E. O. Wilson, 2002, The Future of Life.
  Knopf, New York (p.161)

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Issues to discuss

• What are the trade-offs involved in the adoption
  or rejection of genetically engineered trees?
• Does genetic engineering differ in any meaningful
  way from conventional plant breeding?

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Genetic engineering (GE) will be required for
tree domestication

• One cycle of conventional breeding takes a
  decade GE takes 6 months
• Outcrossing mating system prevents recovery of
  recessive mutations GE can create them easily
• Many vital tree functions are supported with
  duplicated genes GE can knock out all copies
  of a gene at once
• Using genetic engineering, domestication could be
  compressed into a few decades instead of
  centuries of conventional breeding

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The role of genetics in agriculture
Genomics and biotech
Single-cross hybrids
Double-cross hybrids
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Potential environmental risks of GE plants

• Non-target effects (e.g., Monarch butterfly)
• Insects become resistant to Bt, making it useless
  for organic farmers
• Increased use of broad-spectrum herbicides
• Gene flow to wild relatives (e.g., superweeds)
• Loss of biodiversity (e.g., monoculture)

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From the ELF FAQ

• Capitalism as a target is not easily
  identifiable due to it being an ideology rather
  than a physical object. But forms and symbols of
  capitalism can be targeted successfully the
  list is endless but could include such symbols in
  the U.S. as Mt. Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty,
  Disney, Wall Street, etc.