Science finds a way to bring back the American chestnut tree | Toronto Star (I see that UBC is mentioned in the article)
What baffles me, is why use a gene from wheat? Would it not be better to locate the gene for resistance in the Asian chesnuts, and use that instead?
@Junglekeeper posted a similar article on this project last October. New genetically engineered American chestnut will help restore the decimated, iconic tree That thread has a link to a Ted Talk by the team leader. I'm not sure they answer @Michael F's question. The article did say that of the 30 genes they tried, the researches found the wheat gene most effective at preventing blight.
