UNBC Participates in Groundbreaking Pine Beetle Genetics Research
January 15, 2008
| Three UNBC professors will be participating in a landmark research
project that will identify the genetic interactions between the
mountain pine beetle, the fungus it carries, and pine trees. The $4
million research project is being funded by Genome BC and Genome
Alberta and is also involving researchers at UBC, the University of
Alberta, and the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver. The research will produce the first genome sequence of the mountain pine beetle, thousands of which are being collected from the area around Prince George for the analysis. “By mapping large parts of the pine beetle genome, we’ll be able to see how different genes are expressed in pine beetles both at different stages of their lives and when they’re exposed to different environmental conditions,” says Dezene Huber, a Canada Research Chair at UNBC and one of the three UNBC researchers participating in the project. “This will give us new information about how pine beetles are able to withstand a tree’s natural defenses and how they can tolerate cold weather, for example.” Other UNBC participants in the research are Biology professor Brent Murray and Brian Aukema of the Canadian Forest Service who is stationed at UNBC. The pine beetle infestation throughout British Columbia is believed to be the largest Canadian insect infestation in recorded history. To date, it has killed well over half of the mature pine trees in the central and southern interior. “While this research is focusing on the pine beetle, the fungal pathogen it carries, and the pine trees it kills, the results will be far-reaching,” says Dr. Huber. “For example, the genetic similarities between the mountain pine beetle and other bark beetles will ensure that our results will be applied to other forest pests. No other bark beetles have ever been analyzed in this way but it would be naïve to think that the pine beetle is the only climate-related threat to our forests.” Other genetic research underway at UNBC is examining the pine beetle. These projects are looking at past outbreaks, beetle dispersal to new areas, and the potential adaptability of the pine beetle to spruce trees. Contact: Dezene Huber, Canada Research Chair in Forest Entomology and Chemical Ecology – 250.960.5119 Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622 |
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From left: Brian Aukema, Dezene Huber, and Brent Murray.
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