College of Forestry

Forestry scientists have found a way to arrest the development of flowers in poplar trees, paving the way for control of the unintentional spread of engineered or non-native tree species. “Our goal isn’t to make reproductively modified trees just to have that trait,” said Amy Klocko, postdoctoral scientist in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. “It’s to prevent genetically modified or non-native trees from spreading, either to wild forests or to other plantations. This would help alleviate concerns over gene flow, whether for scientific or ethical reasons.”

An article titled Extensive transcriptome changes during natural onset and release of vegetative bud dormancy in Populus, co-authored by Steven Strauss, was recently published in Frontiers in Plant Science, section Functional Plant Ecology.

In the commentarty, "Biotech and Forest Health: Creating a Path for Pragmatism" in national newsletter from US Society of American Foresters, Dr. Strauss makes the case for biotech trees to help cope with urgent forest health crises.

Professor Strauss was the invited speaker at the October meeting of the Emerald Chapter of the Society of American Foresters based in Eugene, Oregon.   He discussed the GMO (genetically engineered crop) controversy in general, how genomic and genetic engineering methods can contribute to forestry, where GMO methods make sense for trees, and focused on the value of GMO methods for helping to deal with growing pest and climate stresses on forest trees all over the world.

Post Doc Amy Klocko won the CGRB 2015 Fall Conference Poster Award for the category of PostDoc/Trainer/Faculty. The poster title was: RNAi of apple AGAMOUS genes leads to increased floral attractiveness and decreased fertility

Regulations on genetic engineering combine with restrictions built into green forest certification programs to stymie rapid and innovative use of GMO trees to adapt to climate change and introduced pests, says Steven Strauss, professor of forest biotechnology at Oregon State University. “No one can really use GMOs now because the regulations are very difficult and because we have these green certification systems,” Strauss says. “Pretty much everywhere in the world, if you’re green certified, they won’t let you plant them, even for research.”

North American forests are suffering from an onslaught of threats including local and imported pests, as well as the impacts of a shifting climate. These threats pose “a real and present danger” to the future of many of our forest trees, notes Steven Strauss, a distinguished professor of forest biotechnology at Oregon State University and lead author on the analysis. PDF

Regulations on genetic engineering combine with restrictions built into green forest certification programs to stymie rapid and innovative use of GMO trees to adapt to climate change and introduced pests, says Steven Strauss, professor of forest biotechnology at Oregon State University.

"With global climate change and the spreading of pests, it's rather urgent we have all the tools we can bring to bear," lead author Dr Steven Strauss from the Oregon State University told BBC News.

In his third-floor laboratory in Richardson Hall, Oregon State University forestry professor Steven Strauss shows off his latest creation: genetically engineered poplar trees that can be propagated in a Petri dish but are incapable of reproducing in the field.