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GM Breakthrough Could Help Dutch Elm Disease Fight
August 24, 2001A team of scientists from the University of Abertay Dundee has grown the world's first genetically modified elm trees.
The breakthrough could lead to the reintroduction into their natural habitat of elm trees resistant to the Dutch elm disease (DED) fungus.
Since 1970, more than 20 million elms in the UK have fallen victim to the environmentally devastating disease while, over the past 70 years, more than 70 per cent of US mature elms have been destroyed by DED.
By transferring anti-fungal genes into the elm genome, Abertay researchers have produced genetically modified elms that could fight off the killer DED fungus, which rapidly spreads through infected trees. Their work is published in the August 2001 edition of academic journal, The Biochemist.
Professor Kevan Gartland is Head of the Division of Molecular and Life Sciences within the University of Abertay Dundee's School of Science and Engineering and leads the eight-strong research team behind the development.
He said: "This is an example of environmentally-friendly biotechnology. Our work on elm trees could be used to tackle the damage to landscapes and ecosystems caused by tree fungal diseases, such as Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight, throughout the world."
First studied in Holland, Dutch elm disease is carried by elm bark beetles, which breed under the bark of elms. After the disease is contracted, fungal growth spreads throughout the tree, preventing water and minerals from reaching the branches and leaves. The tree can take weeks or years to die.
Traditional plant breeding approaches to the problems of Dutch elm disease in Europe have failed while non-GM biotechnological methods have enjoyed only limited success.
Since 1992, the project has been funded by the UK Forestry Commission, which is keen to restore elms to the British landscape where all other efforts have failed.
The Abertay team's recent discovery marks the culmination of a decade's work in the forest biotechnology area, according to Professor Gartland.
He explained: "It's all down to hard work, perseverance and a bit of ingenuity. We used two methods to transfer genes into the elm genome: through the use of Agrobacterium - nature's own genetic engineer - and by firing minute DNA-coated ball-bearings at elm-leaf pieces using a helium-powered gun.
"Both methods produced good results; some of the trees have reached one-and-a-half metres in height already. When the time is right, the trees will undergo rigorous testing in an effort to establish their resistance to Ophiostoma-novo-ulmi, the Dutch elm disease fungus."
Elm trees first appeared around 40 million years ago and can live for up to 300 years. There are at least 40 different species. Elms are highly valued as shade and amenity trees in the UK and US. They are highly prized for their beauty in the landscape and their ability to withstand environmental stresses in the urban environment.
The remaining seven million US urban elms are worth around $19 billion - $2900 per tree. English elms make a particularly good candidate for GM technology because they do not regenerate by seed in the UK.
Abertay Dundee, University of
By transferring anti-fungal genes into the elm genome, Abertay researchers have produced genetically modified elms that could fight off the killer DED fungus, which rapidly spreads through infected trees. Their work is published in the August 2001 edition of academic journal, The Biochemist.
Professor Kevan Gartland is Head of the Division of Molecular and Life Sciences within the University of Abertay Dundee's School of Science and Engineering and leads the eight-strong research team behind the development.
He said: "This is an example of environmentally-friendly biotechnology. Our work on elm trees could be used to tackle the damage to landscapes and ecosystems caused by tree fungal diseases, such as Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight, throughout the world."
First studied in Holland, Dutch elm disease is carried by elm bark beetles, which breed under the bark of elms. After the disease is contracted, fungal growth spreads throughout the tree, preventing water and minerals from reaching the branches and leaves. The tree can take weeks or years to die.
Traditional plant breeding approaches to the problems of Dutch elm disease in Europe have failed while non-GM biotechnological methods have enjoyed only limited success.
Since 1992, the project has been funded by the UK Forestry Commission, which is keen to restore elms to the British landscape where all other efforts have failed.
The Abertay team's recent discovery marks the culmination of a decade's work in the forest biotechnology area, according to Professor Gartland.
He explained: "It's all down to hard work, perseverance and a bit of ingenuity. We used two methods to transfer genes into the elm genome: through the use of Agrobacterium - nature's own genetic engineer - and by firing minute DNA-coated ball-bearings at elm-leaf pieces using a helium-powered gun.
"Both methods produced good results; some of the trees have reached one-and-a-half metres in height already. When the time is right, the trees will undergo rigorous testing in an effort to establish their resistance to Ophiostoma-novo-ulmi, the Dutch elm disease fungus."
Elm trees first appeared around 40 million years ago and can live for up to 300 years. There are at least 40 different species. Elms are highly valued as shade and amenity trees in the UK and US. They are highly prized for their beauty in the landscape and their ability to withstand environmental stresses in the urban environment.
The remaining seven million US urban elms are worth around $19 billion - $2900 per tree. English elms make a particularly good candidate for GM technology because they do not regenerate by seed in the UK.
Abertay Dundee, University of
Genome Current Events and Genome News RSSTime of day matters to thirsty trees, U of T researcher discovers
The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new paper produced by a research team led by Professor Malcolm Campbell, University of Toronto Scarborough's vice-principal for research and colleagues in the department of cell and systems biology at the St. George campus.
Genetic analysis helps dissect molecular basis of cardiovascular disease
Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers led by Daniel Chasman at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, and the PROCARDIS consortium in Stockholm, Sweden and Oxford, England performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry from the Women's Genome Health Study.
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Scientists at UA, collaborating institutions decode maize genome
Scientists from the University of Arizona led by Arizona Genomics Institute director Rod A. Wing and from collaborating institutions have deciphered the complete genetic code of the maize plant for the first time.
Ancestry attracts, but love is blind
People preferentially marry those with similar ancestry, but their decisions are not necessarily based on hair, eye or skin colour.
WPI Researchers Take Aim at Hard-to-Treat Fungal Infections
A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections.
Technique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators
A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors.
Causative gene of a rare disorder discovered by sequencing only protein-coding regions of genome
For the first time, scientists have successfully used a method called exome sequencing to quickly discover a previously unknown gene responsible for a mendelian disorder.
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
A team led by Penn State's Ross Hardison, T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production of gene products during development and growth.
Maize cell wall genes identified, giving boost to biofuel research
Purdue University scientists have helped identify and group the genes thought to be responsible for cell wall development in maize, an effort that expands their ability to discover ways to produce the biomass best suited for biofuels production.
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