Swedish Scots Pine forest; photo: Sonali Ranade
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation approved large projects on tree research. SEK 180 million will be invested for research on tree genes, forest biotechnology and forest genetics. The projects involve a collaboration between UPSC and the Science for Life Laboratory.
The projects are coordinated by Ove Nilsson, director of UPSC, and Ulf Gyllensten from Uppsala University. The first project aims to identify new genes that control growth and wood formation in trees. Part of this project is based on a fully automated phenotyping platform that is established at UPSC. Hundreds of trees can be grown on conveyor belts at this platform and their growth and other properties are automatically measured. This platform is so far unique for dedicated tree research.
The other project has a focus on genomics and forest genetics and will follow up on the large project that led to the first mapping of a conifer tree genome, the Norway spruce genome. That previous project was also funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and was as well a collaboration between UPSC and the Science for Life Laboratory. In the new project, an updated and significantly improved version of the spruce genome will be developed. In parallel, the genome of Scots pine will be sequenced.
Moreover, genetic variations in the genome of thousands of spruce and pine trees that are linked to the Swedish coniferous breeding programs will be analysed. This will provide important basic research tools to understand the trees' natural variation and allow the development of new efficient tools for tree breeding, so-called genomic selection. This part of the project takes place in close collaboration with the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden (Skogforsk).
The projects are approved together with another project on forest production and forest management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) that is coordinated by Tomas Lundmark. The latter project will ensure that the entire potential of the genetics project and the latest breakthroughs in plant nutrition research are further exploited and developed. With the support of new digital technology, forest growth will be enhanced by increasing the diversity in forestry. The idea is to combine the right plant with the right forest management action at the right place to get the best growth-enhancing effect.
Forest management programs will be developed by utilizing the latest basic research on how tree growth is affected by ecophysiological factors such as nutrition and water, how trees collaborate with fungi and microorganisms and on the effect of tree competition, not least under the ground. The aim is to at least double the growth increase that is reached today. With enlarged availability of renewable forest raw materials, the forest can further contribute to the growing bioeconomy and mitigate the effects of climate change.
For questions please contact:
Professor Ove Nilsson, SLU
email:
Phone: 070-286 90 82
Professor Tomas Lundmark, SLU
email:
phone: 070-631 74 12