New Initiatives...Pine Beetle
The Tria Project - Mountain Pine Beetle System Genomics
Canada is home to ten percent of the world’s forests and is as a leader in sustainable forest management. It is also home to the Mountain Pine Beetle. The MPB carries a tree- killing fungus that is threatening huge numbers of trees in British Columbia and has moved into Alberta. The pest already infects 15 million hectares or roughly an area twice the size of New Brunswick.
The forestry industry, tourism, and many rural communities are at risk so there is an urgent need for research into the biological mechanism causing the devastation.
Genome Alberta and Genome BC have come together in the first large-scale Canadian effort to study the problem at a genomic and system level. The project will position Alberta and British Columbia as leaders in new technologies and innovative approaches to tackle Mountain Pine Beetle Pathogen systems. Scientific resources developed for MPB and MPB-associated fungi can help build strategies used against other bark beetles, fungi and weevils around the world.
The project has been peer reviewed and endorsed by an independent international panel of experts who took special note of our innovative and multi-disciplinary approach to the problem.
With 4.1 million dollars in funding already committed, Genome Alberta is seeking additional funding for this highly collaborative effort that will bring together expertise in insect biology, plant genetics, fungal genetics, forest management, and ecological modeling.
The success of this project will provide useful information to forest management officials, better prepare us for future forest health threats, and ultimately develop successful preventative measures.
We highlighted the Project at BIO 2008 in San Diego and developed a poster specifically for the event. A .pdf version is available that gives you a good overview of the project and its objectives. Project Manager Matt Bryman maintains a blog about the project and the team at http://genomealberta.ca/blogs/Mountain_Pine_Beetle_.aspx
New Funding to Add to the Research Toolbox
Alberta and B.C. are joining forces once again to deal with the Mountain Pine Beetle problem which is devastating forest in Western Canada. Conifer forests are Canada’s largest renewable source of ligno-cellulose, used for energy production, paper and wood products which makes the tiny beetle a big threat to the certain economic sectors.
When the IUFRO met in Whistler, British Columbia this week, Genome B.C. announced the launch of a new project from the ABC Competition. This one is led by Genome B.C. with Genome Alberta as a major partner with co-leader Janice Cooke from the University of Alberta.
As Canada and the world begin to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, the emerging bioenergy sector faces a key challenge: the sheer volume of biomass required to produce biofuels, and how to guarantee a steady supply. The new research project largely funded by Genome Canada, Genome BC and Genome Alberta will tackle this problem, by developing genomic tools that will allow a more strategic approach to resource planning.
The research project titled, Genomics-Enhanced Forecasting Tools to Secure Canada’s Near- Term Lignocellulosic Feedstock Supply for Bioenergy using the Mountain Pine Beetle System, is expected to generate new genomics-based information and tools for improved prediction of renewable energy feedstock supply from conifer forests, using the current mountain pine beetle epidemic as an example of an important host-pest-pathogen system.
The new project is an excellent addition to the current Mountain Pine Beetle project ( also known as the Tria project ) which is also a joint initiative between B.C. and Alberta. For more information on the new project visit Genome B.C. to see the original press release.
Adult Mountain Pine Beetle ready to move on to new trees.