Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a way to make trees grow bigger and faster, which could increase supplies of renewable resources and help trees cope with the effects of climate change.
Trees growth starts with a seed.With the right mix of water, light and warmth, a seed sprouts, sending its first shoot up and its first root down. Trees grow taller when new cells are produced at the tips of twigs, causing the twigs to grow longer. The rate at which trees grow is determined by the rate of cell division in the stem.
In the study, published in Current Biology, the team successfully manipulated two genes in poplar trees in order to make them grow larger and more quickly than usual. Scientists have identified two genes that are able to drive cell division in the stem and so override the normal growth pattern. This discovery paves the way for generating trees that grow more quickly and so will contribute to meeting the needs for increased plant biomass as a renewable source of biofuels, chemicals and materials while minimising further CO2 release into the atmosphere.
The genes, called PXY and CLE, control the growth of a tree trunk. When overexpressed, making them more active than in their normal state, the trees grew twice as fast as normal and were taller, wider and had more leaves. As well as the potential to increase biomass supplies for the growing biofuel and industrial biotechnology sectors, the discovery could help plants deal with the environmental consequences of climate change.
This work offers the possibility we may be able to maintain a fast growth rate even in the face of adverse and changeable environmental conditions that all plants are likely to be faced with. One day be used to help recovery of crops in disaster zones.
