OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 4, 2002 -- Cottonwoods, hybrid poplars and aspens could play a role in improving the environment, displacing imported oil and creating domestic jobs, but first scientists from the Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and around the world have to sequence the Populus genome.
Trees like cottonwood, hybrid poplar and aspen have long been used as model organisms in forestry, and the choice of Populus as the first tree genome to sequence is due in large part to their rapid growth rate, small genome size and widespread use in areas of interest to the forest industry and DOE.
"This effort will furnish scientists both in this country and abroad with an unprecedented molecular ‘parts list’ for a tree," said Jerry Tuskan, a researcher in ORNL's Environmental Sciences Division. "Such a list will provide the scientific community with a catalog of genes, knowledge as to what these genes do in trees and an exciting opportunity to better understand how trees grow."
Ultimately, this information will allow scientists to more effectively use trees to carry out important functions like carbon sequestration and enhanced production of biomass for fuels and fiber.
This project builds upon the success that DOE has had in mapping the human genome, a decade-long effort that is expected to lead to cures and the prevention of diseases in people. While sequencing the human genome took years, researchers at DOE’s Joint Genome Institute, ORNL and cooperating institutions expect to make the genetic blueprint of Populus available within 18 months. And they expect the payback to be significant.
"Genetic sequencing of Populus is expected to lead to faster growing trees, trees that produce more biomass for conversion to fuels, while also sequestering carbon from the atmosphere," said Stan Wullschleger of ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division. "In addition, trees with unique traits may be used in phytoremediation, a process whereby trees such as cottonwoods or hybrid poplars could be used to clean up hazardous waste sites.
"Clearly, the information we gain from this effort will benefit ongoing and future projects within DOE and open the doors to countless other opportunities to use woody plants in the pursuit of goals related to traditional forest products and even ecological preservation."
Worldwide, support for the project is high, as more than 100 scientists have indicated via the Web that they believe a poplar genome sequencing effort should be a top priority of forest research. Already, cottonwoods, hybrid poplars and aspens are being used in a variety of ways ranging from paper production to carbon sequestration to the development of fast-growing trees as a source of feedstocks for renewable bio-based products.
"I have never seen the forest genetics community more excited," said Toby Bradshaw, a molecular biologist with the University of Washington, which helped DOE lay the foundation for this effort. "The sequencing of the poplar genome will be a bonanza for researchers seeking to understand how individual genes influence the growth of trees and their adaptation to the natural environment. This knowledge might eventually be applied to the breeding of fast-growing trees capable of producing wood, fiber and energy sustainably on a small amount of land."
In addition to ORNL, participants in the international project include the Joint Genome Institute, the University of Washington, Genome Canada and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The Joint Genome Institute sequencing facility will produce half of the sequence this year and another half in 2003.
Other ORNL researchers involved in the project are Frank Larimer of the Life Sciences Division and Lee Gunter and Zamin Yang of the Environmental Sciences Division. The research was funded by DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research.
ORNL is a Department of Energy multiprogram research facility managed by UT-Battelle.
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