From: University of Georgia Inbreeding Natural Among Trees But
Not Without Costs, University Of Georgia Forestry Research Shows
ATHENS, Ga. -- Illegal and socially taboo among humans,
inbreeding is common, even natural between trees. Still, it
isn't without consequences: Inbred trees grow and develop
slowly, they're often deformed and many die suddenly and
inexplicably before reaching maturity. A team of scientists at
the University of Georgia and the New Zealand Forest Research
Institute have discovered why. Using inbred Monterey pines as a
model, they identified seven genes that can cause the pine to
die, far more than they suspected. It's the first time
researchers have isolated lethal genes in any tree species. The
research was funded by the New Zealand Fund for Public Good
Science, the USA Collaborative Science Programme, the New
Zealand Lottery Board and by Georgia McIntire-Stennis funds.
Findings were published earlier this year in the journal
Theoretical and Applied Genetics. "Death is one of the most