IT MAY be a tree, yet it has twice as many genes as us.
The first sequence of a tree genome has revealed that the black cottonwood poplar (Populus trichocarpa) has more than 45,000 genes. The sequencing turned up many genes unique to trees, including 90 or so linked with the production of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose 鈥� the major polymers that give wood its strength and characteristic hardness (Science, vol 313, p 1596).
鈥淭he sequencing turned up many genes for the polymers that give wood its strength鈥�
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Breeders hope the genetic map of the poplar will help them breed tree species more quickly and study them more easily. Because trees take so long to grow there have been just three generations of poplars since research on them began, says Wout Boerjan of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology in Ghent, Belgium, and a member of the international sequencing consortium. The sequence should also allow researchers to more easily screen native and genetically engineered trees for valuable gene variants that produce useful traits without having to wait for trees to mature.
