Cloned Ontario tree gives hope for Canada’s decimated elms

Vidya Kauri May 29, 2012 – 8:15 PM ET

Cloned Ontario tree gives hope for Canada’s decimated elms

Vidya Kauri May 29, 2012 – 8:15 PM ET

Courtesy of University of Guelph

This tree on the campus of the University of Guelph has survived, despite its neighbours succumbing to disease.

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Courtesy of University of Guelph

This tree on the campus of the University of Guelph has survived, despite its neighbours succumbing to disease.

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resistant to DED.”

When Dutch elm disease decimated tree canopies from the 1940s into the 1980s, the Canadian urban landscape was transformed.

Among the victims were three large trees outside the Guelph, Ont., home of bird enthusiast Philip Gosling, 84. Every May, they had been home to orioles; when the trees were cut, the birds never returned.

They have been part of our family for dozens of years. Then suddenly, year after year, they weren’t coming back anymore and the trees were dead,” said Mr. Gosling, a retired commercial property developer. “We were very sad and distraught by this. But then, so many other people were. You could see it coming. It was happening throughout the area and there was a sense of hopelessness. What was there for us to do? Everyone was losing their trees. Everyone was losing their orioles.”They have been part of our family for dozens of years. Then suddenly, year after year, they weren’t coming back anymore and the trees were dead,” said Mr. Gosling, a retired commercial property developer. “We were very sad and distraught by this. But then, so many other people were. You could see it coming. It was happening throughout the area and there was a sense of hopelessness. What was there for us to do? Everyone was losing their trees. Everyone was losing their orioles.”So, when he and his wife, Susan, a plant researcher, went looking for a cause to donate to in 2009, they wondered if scientists might be able to create a disease-resistant elm. Armed with their gift of $500,000, Prof. Praveen Saxena at the University of Guelph embarked on a mission to make genetically identical copies of a potentially disease-resistant elm tree on Guelph’s campus. It had survived, even as neighbouring trees did not.

After 18 months of failed attempts, Prof. Saxena and his team – Prof. Alan Sullivan and post-doctoral fellows Mukund Shukla and Maxwell Jones — succeeded in cloning the 100-year-old tree that had survived repeated onslaughts of Dutch elm.

“My first thought was that we are on to something very big, and this will lead to something that we all will be proud of,” said Prof. Saxena.

The American Elm, sometimes known as “the lady of the forest,” was a muse to Sylvia Plath and Robert Frost. Alfred Tennyson called elms “full-foliaged” and “immemorial.” Ancient Germanic tribes believed women descended from elms. The Mistress of Fire in the Mongol Wedding Prayer is also said to have come from elm trees on mountaintops.

Courtesy of Don Cameron

n Nova Scotia, the tree was so beloved that the wood from felled trees was used to make sculptures of local heroes.

“We have been hesitant to re-establish elm because when we did try it in the early days, they eventually succumbed to Dutch elm disease,” said Don Cameron, regional forester with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. “So, this gives us great encouragement to think that we can again re-establish this beautiful elm urban forest.”

Alberta and B.C. managed to largely stave off the disease by preventing infected firewood from entering their borders — but even in the west, Prof. Saxena’s work is being watched.

“Albertans are really excited about this sort of research,” said Janet Feddes-Calpas, executive director of the Society to Prevent Dutch Elm Disease in Alberta. “Since the American elm is one of the few species that can survive the extreme Alberta climactic conditions, we welcome any research that can give us hope to be able to plant an elm tree that is

An elm tree sculpture in Nova Scotia

It’s not the first time a potentially Dutch elm-resistant tree has been cloned. Since the disease first came to Canada, many tolerant varieties, grown from cuttings of surviving trees, emerged over the years. However, many of these were only tested in their juvenile years. So, it is not known if they will survive into old age. Some of them still “harbour the fungus and display some reduced symptoms,” said Prof. Saxena.

As well, creating these disease-tolerant varieties is difficult because the cuttings don’t always grow well and the number of cuttings one can get from a surviving tree is limited. Prof. Saxena’s work also eliminates the need for a field in which to grow new varieties. His clones can be taken from the test tube to a pot in about 12 weeks, and then, to a greenhouse or nursery for sale.

Prof. Saxena has now created about 3,000 clones in his lab. They are currently being exposed to various strains of Dutch elm to test their resistance. The new technology is significant because it could also be used to propogate endangered trees. Moreover, other popular species like the maple and ash trees have also suffered from the fatal effects of invasive pests.

“I hope, at some point, we’ll be able to go to a nursery and pick up an American Elm variety of some kind with ease and confidence knowing that we can put it in the ground and that it’s going to be there for generations to come,” said Andrew Williams, urban forestry coordinator for the Town of Truro.

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vkauri@nationalpost.com