Humans have domesticated numerous crops, but trees have largely escaped us. This is because breeding new tree varieties takes many decades. Now, a team has combined machine learning and advanced CRISPR technology to create trees with desirable traits for both industry and the environment in a fraction of the time.
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[Rodolphe Barrangou at North Carolina State University] and his colleagues used a predictive machine learning model to identify genes in poplar trees (Populus trichocarpa) that they could modify to create ideal traits for fiber productions, including increased cellulose-to-lignin ratio….To test the strategies experimentally, the team used multiplex CRISPR, a genetic engineering technique that targets multiple genes simultaneously to generate 174 engineered tree lines….
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The genetic changes, however, meant that many of the edited trees grew much slower. Nevertheless, the team’s analysis suggested that the CRISPR-edited wood would likely boost fiber production efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint since the energetic and chemical input required to remove excess lignin would decrease.
