Current applications of advanced biotechnology include techniques that identify genes within a tree species that contribute to important traits. Identifying and learning the function of the various genes in a tree is called genomics.

Poplar — with one of the smallest genomes of a forest tree — was the first tree to have its DNA fully sequenced. Two more tree genome projects are underway at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Eucalyptus and Pine, both for their economic value and versatility to produce wood, fiber and energy. ArborGen has been involved in all three tree genomics projects to date, gaining more clarity from each study about the complex genetic codes that makes each trees function in their own unique ways. By working with the genome mapping projects, ArborGen is better able to select and breed seedlings that have desired traits such as improved growth, stress tolerance and wood quality.

Genomics can identify genes that help ArborGen breed truly exceptional trees:

• Trees better suited for pulp and paper production, requiring fewer chemicals and less energy to process the wood.
• Trees with improved wood quality and characteristics such as strength and straightness.
• Trees that are endangered or under threat such as the American Chestnut, Flowering Dogwood and American Elm.
• Trees for woody biomass that grow faster and produce more industrial raw material for fiber, cellulosic ethanol and energy.
• Trees that survive climate change and natural stresses that can sequester carbon, generate carbon neutral or carbon positive industrial processes, remediate soil, and to control erosion in drought-prone and degraded lands.