D.E.D survivors, finally a remedy?

[Xerxses]

Found this article wich gives some hope of finding true resistant elms that survives dutch elm disease. It certainly would make it possible to produce offspring of these that would stand a chance.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/science/05obtree.html?_r=3

[agg221]

That's very interesting. There are a couple of small propagation programmes running in the UK that I'm aware of, one in Warwickshire and the other in Essex. They're based purely on propagating survivors in the hope that they have resistance. This might give a way of testing (or these ones could of course be resistant for a totally different reason).

 

There are quite a few survivors around here. They're surrounded by dead ones, so it's a reasonable bet that they have some resistance at least. Conveniently they propagate quite well from softwood cuttings, even from really weak lower shoots, so at least when survivors are found it's easy to keep the gene pool going.

 

Alec

[Xerxses]

That's very interesting. There are a couple of small propagation programmes running in the UK that I'm aware of, one in Warwickshire and the other in Essex. They're based purely on propagating survivors in the hope that they have resistance. This might give a way of testing (or these ones could of course be resistant for a totally different reason).

 

There are quite a few survivors around here. They're surrounded by dead ones, so it's a reasonable bet that they have some resistance at least. Conveniently they propagate quite well from softwood cuttings, even from really weak lower shoots, so at least when survivors are found it's easy to keep the gene pool going.

 

Alec

 

Are the survivors atypical and large specimen?

Cheers for the update on the situation in the UK.

[janey]

Interesting stuff.

 

I wonder if the two triploid trees are showing resistance because they are triploid, or because they are decended from unusually resistant trees?

 

Hmm.

[Xerxses]

Interesting stuff.

 

I wonder if the two triploid trees are showing resistance because they are triploid, or because they are decended from unusually resistant trees?

 

Hmm.

 

Either or... it sounds good either way:blushing:

[slack ma girdle]

The Wych elm in these here parts does not seem to be succoming to D.E.D.

[slack ma girdle]

Interesting stuff.

 

I wonder if the two triploid trees are showing resistance because they are triploid, or because they are decended from unusually resistant trees?

 

Hmm.

 

Can i have a halfwit version please ?

[janey]

Can i have a halfwit version please ?

 

No.

 

 

 

 

The two resistant trees in the article have been found to be signficantly different to others elms of the same species because they have a differeing amount genes.

 

I was wondering if that's what is making them resistant to DED, or whether they are an example of "survival of the fitest" and come from resistant parents and the amount of genes they have has nothing to do with it.

[slack ma girdle]

No.

 

 

 

 

The two resistant trees in the article have been found to be signficantly different to others elms of the same species because they have a differeing amount genes.

 

I was wondering if that's what is making them resistant to DED, or whether they are an example of "survival of the fitest" and come from resistant parents and the amount of genes they have has nothing to do with it.

 

Cheers for that. But if the genes are signficantly different, surely that makes them a different species ?

[janey]

Cheers for that. But if the genes are signficantly different, surely that makes them a different species ?

 

Same genes but with multiple amounts of chromosomes. It's not something I have a huge understanding of either.

Edited April 28, 2011 by janey