Two Approaches to Bringing Back the Chestnut

The American Chestnut was the dominant tree of the Appalachian forest, and its disappearance left a  cultural and biological void. Botanists have been working for a century to bring the chestnut back, and Nature has an update on their progress. Two separate efforts are under way. The old-fashioned school has focused on interbreeding American chestnuts with the much smaller Chinese chestnut, which is resistant to the blight that wiped out the American tree. The latest cross breeds are about 96% American and look like the American tree, but they seem to be highly resistant to the blight.

Meanwhile, a more modern group is using gene splicing technology, putting the genes that they think confer fungal resistance to other plants (wheat, Chinese chestnuts) directly into American Chestnut cells, and they are also optimistic.

Perhaps by the time I die there will be tall chestnut trees in American forests again.