Until about 100 years ago, the American chestnut tree dominated eastern North America, but it was later decimated by blight (above, an undated photo showing a "ghost forest" of dead chestnuts near Luray, Va., courtesy of the Library of Congress). However, today a group of scientists with the American Chestnut Foundation are attempting to revitalize the tree through planting a hybrid species comprising genes from both the American variety and an Asian kind that is resistant to the blight, according to Nature.com.
The blight, Cryphonectria parasitica, arrived from Asia and was first spotted around New York in 1904. Some Asian chestnut trees have enough resistance to the blight to make the hybrid viable in North America. Fred Hebard, a plant pathologist, has bred thousands of hybrids at the organization's research farm in Meadowview, Va. After decades of work, Hebard is within reach of his goal to grow a tall American chestnut with "enough Chinese traits to keep it healthy," Nature wrote.
Other researchers are working to revive the American chestnut by creating genetically modified (GM) species that resist blight, or attacking the fungus directly with viruses. Progress is being made in all areas, Nature wrote. "We're starting to pull the American chestnut tree back from the brink of extinction," Hebard told Nature. Research of this type may also help to save other American trees like elm and ash.
