Tree genome sequence, check (with Canadian content)

TreeArt, originally uploaded by Teo

With the number of new species’ genomes being sequenced each year, I was surprised to learn that our ever-so-humble tree has thus far been neglected.

Well, no longer — an International consortium of researchers has identified the unique sequence of the black cottonwood, a member of the poplar family seen here. Professor Malcolm Campbell, a Joint Cell and Systems Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology faculty member of the University of Toronto, is a co-author of the paper published in the September 15th issue of the journal Science. Contributing from the west coast were UBC forest scientist and botanist Joerg Bohlmann, and fellow UBC botanist, Carl Douglas.

The $10 Million, 4-year effort was led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genome Institute in California and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The international consortium also included significant contributions by Canadian, Swedish and Belgian biologists and funding from their respective governments.

Their research should provide insight into surviving stresses imposed by climate change, such as drought, and those genes that improve the utility of forest trees for the production of paper, biofuels and bioenergy.

More info on the story and Dr. Campbell can be found here and here.

And for more on the folks out west, go here, here and here.

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Tags: cleantech, environment, Kevin Downing, life sciences