In an attempt to better understand California's renowned Pinus lambertiana, also known as the sugar pine, which currently faces extinction, University of California, Davis researchers sequenced its genome, which is a whopping 10 times the size of the human genome. The sugar pine genome marks the largest genome to be sequenced for any organism and scientists hope that it will provide valuable information that will help them prevent the tree's extinction.
"Having the genome sequence allows us to discover the underlying genetic determinants of disease resistance, which will greatly facilitate reforestation efforts," said David Neale, principal investigator of the study, in a press release. "We can now give forest managers modern, rapid genetic tools to identify resistant trees."
As one of the tallest trees in the world, the tree's pinecones range from 10 to 20 inches in length, making them the longest of any conifer species. The tree spans from California all the way south to parts of Baja Mexico and north into Oregon, and plays an important role in the ecosystems that it resides in.
"The sugar pine has important environmental value as a key component of California forests, ecological and recreational value throughout the Sierra Nevada, and economic value as a source of timber," said Neale.
However, due to the white pine blister rust, a fungal pathogen, as well as bark beetle damage and consistent Californian drought, the tree species' numbers are dwindling. Thankfully, genome sequencing can help scientists devise ways of helping the trees fight off these detrimental forces, although further sequencing still needs to be conducted.
"The sequencing and assembly of these two pine genomes reaches the present-day limits of genomic technologies and methods," said Charles Langley, who participated in the research. "Like the human genome reference sequence, they are not yet complete, but they do provide an almost complete 'parts list' and a draft of the 'instructions.'"
The genome sequencing findings appeared in the Mar. 4, 2014 issue of Genome Biology.
