4 ms·

It actually is pretty "simple" in this case (the tree needs to produce a single chemical, oxalate oxidase). There is a program that has done this very successfu

• culi 4y ago
  That's very interesting. The video I linked showed that blight resistant trees had a very specific response to grow extra tissue around the infection site to stop it from spreading further so I assumed it was more of a multi-pronged defense
  • empyrrhicist 4y ago
    Yes - the Asian ones that evolved with the fungus have a more complex strategy, making a purely breeding-based program challenging. Separately, some clever genetic engineering allows the trees to break down oxalic acid, which prevents the fungus from being able to efficiently attack the plant cells. Two separate things.
    • pfdietz 4y ago
      These two approaches could be combined, and probably will be naturally if both varieties are introduced to the wild.
      • JshWright 4y ago
        Indeed, part of the work being done by the team working on the genetic engineering approach is breeding Darling 58 with the Chinese backcrossed version.
• empyrrhicist 4y ago
  That's the genetic engineering approach, but the Chinese ones have a different, more complex, less well understood, and potentially complementary resistance mechanism.
  • JshWright 4y ago
    Right, the genetic engineering approach is what this reply thread is about…