{"id":24030,"date":"2023-03-23T12:19:38","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T16:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/?page_id=24030"},"modified":"2023-05-18T11:54:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T15:54:41","slug":"super-forests","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/genomics\/our-sectors\/environment\/forestry\/super-forests\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Forests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While our ancestors were able to promote the development of agriculture through traditional selection methods, Jean Bousquet\u2019s goal is to revolutionize forestry through genomic selection. His approach: to reforest with trees whose genes have passed the test even before they are planted.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s forests are composed of countless trees, but above all a natural gene pool of unsuspected diversity \u2014 until recently. For example, although Balsam firs are found throughout North America, they are not exactly the same everywhere. The same goes for black spruce, jack pine, and larch. For each species, there are subpopulations adapted to the specific conditions of their habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

This diversity is a catalog of traits that the researcher can browse through in order to find the best trees, in terms of growth, seed production, resistance to budworm, tolerance to drought, and so on. Each tree is more or less efficient for each of these traits. By selecting the best trees for reforestation in any given area, we end up with more productive forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But until recently, the only way of judging the “performance” of trees and selecting the best ones for the next generation was to let them grow to maturity, which took decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jean Bousquet\u2019s work, which began in the early 2000s, has gained momentum in recent years as DNA sequencing methods have become speedier and more affordable. \u201cIn the beginning,\u201d he recalls, \u201cwe were following the leads opened up by human genetics. Sequencing the genome of a tree was unthinkable: the procedure was not only costly, but unfeasible, since the conifer genome is 6 to 10 times larger than our own. We started off by focusing on sequencing the genes, which produce the RNA found in cells. But 15 years later, new methods are available to forestry, and two years ago, we published the complete white spruce genome.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The researcher is particularly interested in adaptive genes, whose frequencies vary from one population to the next. By closely studying these genes, it is possible to compile lists of trees based on their performance for a given criterion, from best to worst. The most tolerant to lack of water, for example, will be planted in drier areas, while the ones most resistant to budworm can be planted in areas where the next infestation is anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year after the logging companies complete their harvest, 125 million conifers are planted to reforest cut-over sites. Once applied, the genomic approach developed by Jean Bousquet and his partners will ensure that the best trees are planted at different locations, on the basis of climate, water availability, risk of infestation, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

 \u201cAfter several years of observation and analysis, we\u2019ve managed to identify the gene frequencies corresponding to the trees that perform best for each trait. Under certain conditions, we can now get an idea of a tree\u2019s performance from birth by analyzing its genome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

While natural commercial conifers in Qu\u00e9bec require 70 to 120 years to grow back following a cut, the silviculture of these trees, as proposed by Jean Bousquet, will allow forest companies to harvest trees after only 30 or 40 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u00ab Qu\u00e9bec is ripe for a revolution in forest resource exploitation,\u00bb Bousquet notes. \u00abWhile forest companies have to build roads to enable them to go ever farther north to find the resource, there is unused land in southern Quebec, right here in the St. Lawrence Valley, that could be used for forest culture. With our approach, even soils that are considered poor could be reforested and exploited; you just have to plant the right trees. They will be able to go back two or three times as often, thereby increasing the commercial value per hectare and the spinoff for the regions; and it will help us better protect our last natural forests! \u00bb<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab This is how I imagine the forests of tomorrow: close to the centers, with trees that grow better and are better adapted to the coming climate changes that have already started. We don\u2019t want to replace the existing forest, we want to improve it. And we can use genomics to do it faster. \u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about forest genomics, we invite you to\u00a0take a\u00a0virtual tour of the FastTRAC project<\/a><\/strong>, one of Jean Bousquet’s research.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While our ancestors were able to promote the development of agriculture through traditional selection methods, Jean Bousquet\u2019s goal is to revolutionize forestry through genomic selection. His approach: to reforest with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":23324,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24030","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24030"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24032,"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24030\/revisions\/24032"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}