Forest industry to benefit from tree genome sequencing

Forest industry to benefit from tree genome sequencing

Friday 7 Jun 2013

Canadian and Swedish scientists have decoded the genome sequences of two of the world’s most economically important forest trees, a development that could sharply reduce the time required to grow the trees and help them resist pest infestation reports The Vancouver Sun.

The two studies, which looked at the white spruce and Norway spruce genomes, will help develop innovative tools for tree breeding, and address economically and ecologically important targets such as insect resistance, wood quality, growth rates and adaptation to changing climate, said University of B.C. Prof. Joerg Bohlmann, a co-author of the two studies.

“Scientists in B.C. and Quebec are already starting to use the genetic code of these trees to accelerate their programs, because of these studies,” Prof. Steven Jones, senior author of the white spruce genome study. According to co-author Prof. John Mackay of Université Laval, a genome-based marker system could reduce the time of the spruce breeding cycle from today’s 25 years to as little as five years, and “thus contribute directly to the competitiveness of the Canadian and Scandinavian forest industry.”

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