New hope in fight against ash dieback - a tree called Betty
A tree in Norfolk, nicknamed Betty, was predicted to show a very high tolerance to the disease
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scientists have made a “large first step” in efforts to tackle ash dieback by identifying the first UK tree with very high tolerance to the disease.
Chalara ash dieback, which could kill millions of ash trees, was first identified in the UK in 2012, and experts fear it could have the same devastating impact on the country's woodlands and landscape as Dutch elm disease did in the 1970s.
But a team of researchers from the UK, Denmark and Norway have identified genetic markers in ash trees that are tolerant to the disease, raising hopes of selective breeding to produce trees that are less susceptible to the ash dieback fungus.
Scientists assessed 182 ash trees in Denmark, which had been badly hit by Chalara, scoring them for visual signs of disease and then conducting a genetic analysis. They found three genetic markers in the trees that were associated with disease tolerance, and tested these on a separate group of Danish trees to see how well they predicted the trees' susceptible. They then screened trees in the UK to predict if they were likely to be mildly or strongly tolerant to ash dieback.
A tree nicknamed Betty, in a Norfolk Wildlife Trust woodland where there were a high number of infected trees, was predicted by the markers to show a very high tolerance to the disease. Betty is a mature tree that is currently healthy, despite being next to trees which are infected.
Initial screening of several small UK populations has also indicated that the markers for tolerance may be more common in UK ash trees, compared with other parts of Europe.
Professor Allan Downie, emeritus fellow at the John Innes Centre and coordinator of the Nornex consortium, which carried out the research, said: “The identification of genetic markers for trees with low susceptibility to ash dieback is a large first step, one of many that will be needed in the fight to help ash trees survive this disease epidemic.” He said it was “astonishing” the science had come so far in such a short time.
UK chief plant health officer Nicola Spence said: “This unprecedented work conducted by British scientists has uncovered an exciting development in tree health. It paves the way for tackling this destructive disease and will help ensure that Britain's stock of ash trees, and its countryside, remains resilient against pests and disease in the future.”
The research was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments