Researchers Get $2 Million to Study XXL Aspen
Thanks to a $2.01-million state grant, researchers from the School of
Forestry and Wood Products hope to unlock the genetic secrets behind what
makes some trees grow big while other trees grow bigger.
"We will use the grant to understand the complex, genetic mechanisms
that control why some of our transgenic aspen trees are growing so fast,"
said Assistant Professor Chung-Jui Tsai. "We didn't expect that when we
first started this line of research, and we still can't explain it."
Tsai and three other MTU researchers received one of the 63 Life Sciences
Corridor grants issued in December by the state. A total of $100 million
will be distributed to recipients statewide over the next three years
to promote life sciences research in Michigan. Funding for the Life Sciences
Corridor grants comes from Michigan's share of a legal settlement with
tobacco companies.
The proposal, "Functional Genomics of Fast-Growing Transgenic Aspen Trees,"
is one of only two funded Life Sciences Corridor projects that involve
plants, and the only one that deals with trees. Nearly all of the grants
support medical research.
The big-aspen puzzle began a few years ago, when MTU scientists led by
Professor Vincent Chiang genetically altered aspen to reduce the amount
of lignin they produce. Lignin, a fibrous component of wood, is chemically
extracted during the pulp and paper-making process. The team, including
Tsai, succeeded in growing the low-lignin trees. To their surprise, these
transgenic aspen also grew far more quickly than the control aspen, which
had not been genetically modified.
Once the researchers have determined the exact genetic and biochemical
mechanisms that prompt the transgenic aspen to grow so quickly, they hope
to apply that knowledge to other, commercially valuable trees. "If we're
successful, this could be very important to the agricultural industry,"
Tsai said.
The grant will fund a DNA microarray core facility at MTU, including
a specialized robot that can place thousands of genes onto a single glass
slide. Using these so-called DNA chips, researchers will be able to compare
genes from control aspen with genes from a variety of transgenic aspen
to determine which ones differ.
At the same time, hundreds of metabolites (substances that are important
in the aspen's metabolism) will be measured to develop metabolite profiles
of the fast-growth aspen. By integrating gene and metabolite profiles,
they hope to sort out which mechanisms regulate growth. For example, genes
in a fast-growing transgenic aspen may play a key role in producing a
hormone that regulates metabolism.
"We'll be able to study at the most fundamental level why organisms function
as they do," Tsai said. "There could be many spinoffs to this work, and
we're very, very excited."
Though other tree species may have greater commercial value, aspen is
a good guinea pig for Tsai's studies. Aspen is an important forest crop
in Michigan, where it is used primarily in the pulp and paper industry.
And Tsai perfected the technique for cloning aspen, which is fundamental
to the project's success.
In addition to Tsai, other project investigators are Research Assistant
Professor Scott Harding, Assistant Professor Chandrashekhar Joshi, Chiang,
and former MTU research scientist Jacqueline Leshkevich. The grant will
support three PhD students and three postdoctoral scientists, and provide
numerous opportunities for undergraduate research.
