Unlocking the Genetic Basis of Pine Tree Defense

Scientists from the University of British Colombia have made an interesting discovery on the genetic secrets that enable conifers (pine trees and spruce) to ward off herbivores and pathogens. By comparing the structure and sequence of enzymes that produce terpenoids in plants, the researchers were able to show how they produce complex mixtures of chemical compounds that continuously evolve to protect them from diseases and pathogens. Terpenoids are a vast group of aromatic compounds that play an important role in mediating various plant–herbivore, plant–pollinator, and plant–pathogen interactions.

The scientists demonstrated how neofunctionalization can result from relatively minor changes in protein sequence to increasing the diversity of plant compounds. The neofunctionalization hypothesis asserts that after gene duplication, one gene retains the ancestral function whereas the other acquires a new function, therefore leading to increase in diversity of products. The discovery made by the researchers may open the way to developing new trees that can fight insects like the mountain pine beetles, which has caused billions of dollars losses in conifer-based forest economies.

The abstract of the paper published by PNAS is available at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0709466105v1