Enabling selection for heartwood rot resistance and durability of Western red cedar lumber, a key resource for the value-added forest industry in Canada.

根据木材价格，西部红柏(Thuja Plicata)有时是加拿大最珍贵的森林树种，2006年的年出口额超过7.7亿美元。褶皱木材被认为是耐用和防腐的，因此对于特殊的户外应用，如甲板、家具、屋顶和墙瓦，价格很高。树木的抗腐性和产生的木材的相关耐久性主要归因于高水平的托洛酮，即积累在心材中的抗微生物化合物。从心材中提纯的托洛酮也被用于医疗/天然药物/化妆品市场，主要是在亚洲，因为它们具有很强的抗菌性能。尽管抗腐性是褶皱杉木的一个关键标志，但在二次生长的树木中，这一特性存在相当大的差异，而且很大一部分砍伐的树木由于相当大的内部腐烂而被淘汰。在木材耐用性方面也有类似的变化。在加拿大，用于褶皱毛虫生产的基因库是由不列颠哥伦比亚省森林和牧场部生产的，这是我们在这个项目中的主要合作伙伴。这些遗传资源又主要由我们的工业合作伙伴西部森林产品公司用于种子生产

Based on lumber prices, Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) is at times the highest prized forest tree species in Canada and with a yearly export of more than $ 770 million in 2006. T. plicata lumber is regarded as durable and rot resistant and therefore highly priced for special outdoor applications such as decking, furniture, roof and wall shingles. The rot resistance of trees and the related durability of generated lumber is primarily attributed to high levels of tropolones, antimicrobial compounds that accumulate in the heartwood. Tropolones purified from heartwood are also used in the medical/natural medicine/cosmetic market primarily in Asia because of their strong antimicrobial properties. Although rot resistance is a key trademark for T. plicata lumber, there is considerable variation for this trait in second-growth trees, and a significant portion of cut trees are culled because of considerable internal rot. There is also a similar variation in lumber durability. The genetic stock used for T. plicata production in Canada is produced by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests and range, our major partner in this project. These genetic stocks are in turn used for seed production primarily by our industrial partner Western Forest Products