Researchers studying ash trees in the western U.S. have discovered a set of genetic variations that could protect the species from a devastating threat sweeping across the continent, according to a post on ScienceDaily from Penn State University.
Since 2002, a tiny beetle called the emerald ash borer has been destroying ash tree populations in America and Canada, starting with the East Coast. Introduced from Asia, this beetle has been doing what invasive species do: multiplying out of control, without the natural predators and plant defenses that would keep it in check in its native environment, and destroying its food source as it goes.
About 90% of the ash trees infected by the emerald ash borer die, and whole forests have been demolished this way as the beetle's range spreads from east to west. Researchers fear ash trees could become functionally extinct in North America.
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Absolutely 💯 At the same time, the world's increasing temperature presents its own threat to a huge variety of species, including ash trees, which may not survive the heat.
However, a new study has revealed a potential way forward.
Researchers from Penn State collected samples from a specific species of ash tree called the Oregon ash, which exists up and down the West Coast in the U.S. and Canada. The study looked at more than 1,000 individual trees from 61 distinct populations in that range and examined the genome of each one.
What researchers found was a level of genetic variation that could give the species a chance of survival. Specifically, some of the individual trees in the south of the Oregon ash's range are more resistant to the emerald ash borer and more resilient to high temperatures.
If these hardier trees can be bred with northern ash tree populations and have their genes introduced in those areas, the Oregon ash might survive into the future. That's important because the Oregon ash plays a vital role in its ecosystem, preventing erosion along stream banks and shading the water to keep it cool for other species, including fish. No other tree species in the area does this job.
Conservationists need to act fast, though, because the emerald ash borer has already been spotted in Oregon.
"Leveraging the power of landscape genomics enables us to identify regions and Oregon ash populations of greatest conservation concern and can improve selection of populations for expanding collections for the breeding programs," said Jill Hamilton, senior author of the study and director of Penn State's Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, per ScienceDaily.
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"Given the immediate risk of the emerald ash borer to the Oregon ash range, there is a need for proactive conservation. This study represents the first application of genomic data to conservation and restoration for Oregon ash."
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