Re: [nafex] Blight resistant American Chestnuts

Yes, if you read the links I sent, from a group involved in a breeding program to introduce Chinese chestnut genes into a hybrid that is overwhelmingly American chestnut, you will see that the fungus causes minor cosmetic damage to Chinese chestnuts, but does live in those trees.

Chinese chestnut wood was the source of the fungus in the US, wasn't it? (Or maybe European chestnut?)

Ginda
--
Typed with Swype. Who knows what I meant to say?

On November 7, 2014 8:39:31 AM EST, Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net> wrote:
>
>On Nov 6, 2014, at 9:08 PM, Elizabeth Hilborn wrote:
>
>> They are apparently transgenic with a wheat oxalate oxidase gene
>which renders the trees resistant to fungal-associated pathology. They
>make the point that these new trees have more American Chestnut genetic
>material than the complex hybrids such as Dunstan.
>
>From the article:
>
>> This gene doesn't hurt the fungus, but instead detoxifies the acid
>used by the fungus to attack the tree, essentially changing the fungus
>from a pathogen to a saprophyte that lives on the bark of the tree
>without causing significant harm.
>
>So these trees will continue to host the fungus, thereby remaining a
>permanent locus for infection. In many parts of the country, the fungus
>seems to be persistent in any case; but I'm not sure that it's not an
>issue everywhere.
>
>I wonder why they didn't take the resistance genes from the Chinese
>chestnut, instead of from a plant as distantly related as wheat? I
>don't know whether the Chinese chestnut genes allow the tree to
>continue hosting the fungus or not -- does anyone else?
>
>
>-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
>Fresh-market organic produce, small scale
>
>
>
>
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