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Wanna be a tree doctor ?

Q: Trees (or plants, for that matter) do not run…,
So what do they do when they are attacked by enemies ???

A: They put up “chemical defenses” to fight off the invaders!

Aspen trees, for example, produce high levels of “phenolic compounds” (the kind that cause apples to brown) when they sense changes in the environment (light, fertility, temperature, insect damage, etc).

 
Pliers pinching of leaves is
used to mimic insect damage
in greenhouse experiments.
       
Damaged leaves (left) produce more tannins (stained red) than healthy leaves (right).
Michigan Tech scientists and students are studying genes that control this response.

The genome of Populus (including aspen and cottonwood) has recently been sequenced by the US Department of Energy. The genetic blueprint now provides scientists the tools to study how trees coped with stresses. Populus was the third plant species to be sequenced, after Arabidopsis (completed in 2000) and rice (completed in 2002).
“Stem cells” are plentiful in trees!
You can “clone” trees from a piece of leaf, a process called “tissue culture.”
1. Greenhouse Plants
 
2. Leaf Disks
 
3. Leaf Disk
4. Callus
Induction
 
   
5. Callus
Proliferation
 
6. Callus
 
7. Shoot
Regeneration
 
   
8. Elongation
9.Rooting
10. Greenhouse
Acclimation

Michigan Tech researchers and students are using tissue culture techniques to introduce foreign genes into plant cells, so new trees can be generated to test gene functions.


Michigan Tech researchers and students are using hydroponics and DNA Chips to study tree responses to poor nutrient conditions.

  
Q: What is hydroponics? A: It’s a method of growing plants without soil, allowing precise control of nutrients.
Q: What is a DNA chip?
DNA Chip

with nitrogen
without nitrogen
Genes are labled with green dye
Genes are labled with red dye
A: It’s a glass microscope slide spotted with thousands of genes. It stores genetic data like a computer microchip.

Response of thousands of genes (to nutrient deficiency) can be studied simultaneously.

A tree like aspen contains ~40,000 genes or ~480 million base pairs (DNA letters). With the DNA chip technology, scientists can place all these genes in one single glass slide to study the whole genome response in one experiment!

Michigan Tech researchers and students are using hydroponics and DNA Chips to study tree responses to poor nutrient conditions.

Trees are important sources for timber, paper-making and fuel.

Trees also provide habitat for wildlife, serve recreational functions, and help regulate climate.

“Tree doctors” can have significant impact on the environment and human life!
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biology • biomed • chemistry • math • me-em • forest resources & environmental science • chem engg