Genome Alberta using 21st Century biology to tackle the Mountain Pine Beetle
It isn't much bigger than a grain of rice, but in the numbers that are invading Alberta, the Mountain Pine Beetle is making a meal of our vast forests. An estimated million and a half trees have been affected in the province so far and the infestation is a serious threat to 23 billion dollars worth of Alberta timber.
Current control efforts receiving wide attention mostly involve prescribed burns but Genome Alberta and its partners are looking much deeper into the underlying problem. The TRIA project is looking at the interaction between the tree, the beetle and the blue stain fungus (hence the name Tria which is Latin for three). The fungus is introduced into the tree by the beetle and ultimately does as much if not more damage to the tree than the beetle itself. The genome for the fungus has not been sequenced and the joint Alberta - BC team is at the forefront of this research.
The new sequence information can be used in the study of other insect-tree-fungus pests including the Southern Pine Beetle making its way into Ontario, and the Bark Beetle already prevalent in parts of the United States.
The Tria Project was highlighted by Genome Alberta at the BIO International Convention in San Diego recently and has received international recognition for its novel approach to the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic. The work is helping Canada maintain its status as a leader in forest health research and is generating information that can be used by researchers around the world.
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