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THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT WAS ONCE A COMMON, ECONOMICALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY IMPORTANT TREE IN THE EASTERN U.S. FORESTS UNTIL AN INVASIVE FUNGAL DISEASE KILLED OVER THREE BILLION TREES AND BROUGHT THE SPECIES TO NEAR EXTINCTION. USING THE TOOLS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, A BLIGHT TOLERANT AMERICAN CHESTNUT TREE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED THAT COULD RESCUE THIS SPECIES AND BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT. BUT ALTHOUGH FEDERAL REGULATORS HAVE EXPERIENCE EVALUATING GENETICALLY ENGINEERED (GE) AGRICULTURAL CROPS, USING BIOTECHNOLOGY TO RESCUE A WILD SPECIES SETS UP A NOVEL PARADIGM REQUIRING NEW INFORMATION. THE GE AMERICAN CHESTNUT IS AN IDEAL CASE STUDY TO HELP NOT ONLY WITH ITS OWN RESTORATION, BUT WITH UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS FOR OTHER THREATENED TREES SUCH AS ASH, HEMLOCK, AMERICAN ELM, AND MANY OTHERS.THIS RESEARCH WILL DIRECTLY COMPARE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF GE, CONVENTIONALLY BRED, AND WILD-TYPE TREES. WE WILL ESTABLISH PLANTINGS OF GE AND WILD-TYPE AMERICAN CHESTNUTS, ADVANCED BACKCROSS AND HYBRID CHESTNUTS, AND RED OAK CONTROLS AT THREE SITES SPANNING THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT'S HISTORIC RANGE. CORE OBJECTIVES WILL 1) ADDRESS BASELINE SOIL AND ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AT THE EXPERIMENTAL SITES PRIOR AND SUBSEQUENT TO SITE PREPARATION AND PLANTING, 2) EVALUATION OF HEALTH, FORM, GROWTH, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF GE AND CONVENTIONAL GENOTYPES, 3) COMPARISON OF SPECIES RICHNESS AND DIVERSITY OF SOIL FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIFFERENT TREES, AND 4) EXAMINE INSECT COMMUNITIES AND FEEDING RESPONSES ACROSS TREE TYPES AND SITES.THESE FORESTS WILL LAST FAR BEYOND THIS SPECIFIC PROPOSALAND THUS WERE DESIGNED TO FACILITATE DECADES OF FUTURE RESEARCH WHILE CONTINUOUSLY PROVIDING FEEDBACK TO REGULATORS. THERE IS ALSO A CRITICAL PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION COMPONENT TO THIS PROJECT SO THAT EDUCATORS AND THE PUBLIC CAN FOLLOW THESE TREES FROM SEEDLINGS TO CANOPY TREES. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS PROJECT SERVES AS A CRITICAL TEMPLATE FOR INFORMING FUTURE TREE RESTORATION PROJECTSPROGRAM AREA ADDRESSED:4A) ASSESSMENT OF THE INFLUENCE OF GEAS COMPARED TONON-GE ORGANISMS ON AGRICULTURAL OR FOREST ECOSYSTEMS.

$499,941FY2018National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

The Research Foundation For The State University Of New York

Investigators

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THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT WAS ONCE A COMMON, ECONOMICALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY IMPORTANT TREE IN THE EASTERN U.S. FORESTS UNTIL AN INVASIVE FUNGAL DISEASE KILLED OVER THREE BILLION TREES AND BROUGHT THE SPECIES TO NEAR EXTINCTION. USING THE TOOLS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, A BLIGHT TOLERANT AMERICAN CHESTNUT TREE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED THAT COULD RESCUE THIS SPECIES AND BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT. BUT ALTHOUGH FEDERAL REGULATORS HAVE EXPERIENCE EVALUATING GENETICALLY ENGINEERED (GE) AGRICULTURAL CROPS, USING BIOTECHNOLOGY TO RESCUE A WILD SPECIES SETS UP A NOVEL PARADIGM REQUIRING NEW INFORMATION. THE GE AMERICAN CHESTNUT IS AN IDEAL CASE STUDY TO HELP NOT ONLY WITH ITS OWN RESTORATION, BUT WITH UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS FOR OTHER THREATENED TREES SUCH AS ASH, HEMLOCK, AMERICAN ELM, AND MANY OTHERS.THIS RESEARCH WILL DIRECTLY COMPARE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF GE, CONVENTIONALLY BRED, AND WILD-TYPE TREES. WE WILL ESTABLISH PLANTINGS OF GE AND WILD-TYPE AMERICAN CHESTNUTS, ADVANCED BACKCROSS AND HYBRID CHESTNUTS, AND RED OAK CONTROLS AT THREE SITES SPANNING THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT'S HISTORIC RANGE. CORE OBJECTIVES WILL 1) ADDRESS BASELINE SOIL AND ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AT THE EXPERIMENTAL SITES PRIOR AND SUBSEQUENT TO SITE PREPARATION AND PLANTING, 2) EVALUATION OF HEALTH, FORM, GROWTH, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF GE AND CONVENTIONAL GENOTYPES, 3) COMPARISON OF SPECIES RICHNESS AND DIVERSITY OF SOIL FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIFFERENT TREES, AND 4) EXAMINE INSECT COMMUNITIES AND FEEDING RESPONSES ACROSS TREE TYPES AND SITES.THESE FORESTS WILL LAST FAR BEYOND THIS SPECIFIC PROPOSALAND THUS WERE DESIGNED TO FACILITATE DECADES OF FUTURE RESEARCH WHILE CONTINUOUSLY PROVIDING FEEDBACK TO REGULATORS. THERE IS ALSO A CRITICAL PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION COMPONENT TO THIS PROJECT SO THAT EDUCATORS AND THE PUBLIC CAN FOLLOW THESE TREES FROM SEEDLINGS TO CANOPY TREES. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS PROJECT SERVES AS A CRITICAL TEMPLATE FOR INFORMING FUTURE TREE RESTORATION PROJECTSPROGRAM AREA ADDRESSED:4A) ASSESSMENT OF THE INFLUENCE OF GEAS COMPARED TONON-GE ORGANISMS ON AGRICULTURAL OR FOREST ECOSYSTEMS. · GrantIndex