SBIR Phase II: Genetic improvement of loblolly pine for increased wood density and improved wood quality

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是设计火炬松，使木材密度(产量)增加20%，而不需要额外的土地、水或化肥。到2060年，全球对木材产品的需求预计将增长60%，管理松树种植园将在帮助满足这一需求方面发挥关键作用。通过识别和研究控制植物发育的基因，特别是与细胞壁中的纤维素(木材)生产有关的基因，通过基因工程提高了树木捕捉和利用二氧化碳(CO2)以生长更多木材的自然能力。这项技术将加强美国作为商业木材产品的领先生产国和出口国的地位，即用于造纸的纸浆木材、用于木材的锯木和用于燃料的木球。此外，随着对松树基因组理解的进步，这里提出的工作将刺激森林遗传学领域的新创新的发展，而拟议的基因工程苗木有助于满足行业对商业木材产品日益增长的需求。这个SBIR第二阶段项目将开发一种更有效的方法来设计高木材密度火炬松品种。与传统育种不同的是，传统育种在过去20年中木材密度提高了6%，这项工作建议通过应用定向的“基因性状”方法通过改变次生细胞壁基因调控来对火炬松进行基因工程，从而将松树的木材密度提高20%。这项拟议的研究将利用一种新改进的松树转化协议来扩大利用正在申请专利的细胞壁基因平台技术设计的树苗的原型生产。此外，本工作还利用适应不同选择环境的种质建立了一条松树工程管道。这将简化生产过程，同时允许更快地测试和开发改善多个增长地区增长特征的技术。具体地说，用这种方法设计的植物将在温室和田间试验中测试其长期木材质量特征。该项目的目标是建立火炬松工程苗木的商业规模生产计划，并为已开发的细胞壁平台技术的现场测试和最终商业销售做准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to engineer loblolly pine to increase wood density (yield) by 20% with no additional land, water, or fertilizer use requirements. With global demand for wood products expected to rise 60% by 2060, managed pine plantations will play a key role in helping to meet this need. By identifying and studying the genes that control plant development, particularly as they relate to cellulose (wood) production in the cell wall, the tree's natural ability to capture and utilize carbon dioxide (CO2) for more wood growth has been enhanced through genetic engineering. This technology will strengthen the United States' position as the leading producer and exporter of commercial wood products, i.e., pulpwood for paper, sawtimber for lumber, and wood pellets for fuel. Additionally, with advancements in the understanding of the pine genome, the work proposed here will stimulate the development of novel innovations in the field of forest genetics while the proposed genetically engineered seedlings help to address growing industry needs for commercial wood products.This SBIR Phase II project will develop a more efficient approach to engineering high wood density loblolly pine varieties. In contrast to traditional breeding, which has seen a modest 6% increase in wood density improvements over the past 20 years, this work proposes to increase wood density in pine by 20% through application of a directed, "gene trait" method to genetically engineer loblolly pine by altering secondary cell wall gene regulation. The proposed research will utilize a newly improved pine transformation protocol to scale up prototype production of tree seedlings designed with patent-pending, cell wall gene platform technologies. Also, this work establishes a pine engineering pipeline using germplasm adapted to different selective environments. This will streamline the production process while allowing for faster testing and development of technologies that improve growth traits in multiple growing regions. Specifically, plants engineered with this method will be tested for their long-term wood quality characteristics in both greenhouse and field trials. The goal of this project is to establish a commercial scale production program for loblolly pine engineered seedlings, and prepare for field testing and ultimately commercial sales of the cell wall platform technologies that have been developed.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.