Widespread deforestation poses a significant threat to the integrity of ecosystems around the world. In this Insight, we explore how advances in plant biotechnology can help tackle United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal Number 15: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.”
The fight to save our forests
Approximately a third of the Earth’s surface is covered with forest. From the vast tracts of evergreen conifers that dominate the Siberian landscape to the hundreds of broadleaf tree species found along the Amazon River, forests are a defining feature of our planet’s landscape.
Aside from their natural beauty, forests also play key functional roles in maintaining our natural environment by:
- capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere;
- improving air and water quality;
- regulating the Earth’s temperature and maintaining rainfall patterns;
- reducing the impacts of natural disasters; and
- forming ecosystems that are home to significant biodiversity.
However, with the soil beneath forests being some of the world’s most fertile, vast areas of natural forest have been cleared to provide more land for agriculture. The expansion of urban settlements and ever-increasing demand for wood products mean that deforestation remains an ongoing fight for survival.
The long generation times of most tree species mean that traditional breeding methods are incapable of improving trees at rates required to meet ever-evolving commercial and environmental demands. Plant biotechnology offers a valuable approach for facilitating significant breakthroughs in tree improvement.
Improving carbon capture
Beyond using CO₂ to satisfy their basic metabolic needs, trees act as critical carbon sinks, which helps mitigate the effects of industrial emissions and climate change.
As trees mature, their metabolic demands for CO₂ increase, which increases their capacity to capture carbon from the atmosphere. However, when mature trees are cut down in timber production and replaced with immature trees, it usually takes many years (or decades in some cases) for new trees to capture CO₂ at anywhere near the same rate as the mature trees they were intended to replace.
Designing forests using trees bioengineered to rapidly capture CO₂ has the potential to transform the world of forest biotechnology and represents an important step towards achieving carbon neutrality.
For instance, the startup Living Carbon uses synthetic biology to increase the efficiency of the enzyme RuBisCo (which is responsible for fixing CO₂ from the atmosphere). Their genetically engineered poplar trees grow bigger, reach maturity faster, and capture more carbon than their wildtype counterparts.
Improving wood quality
Lignin is a biopolymer essential for structural support and water transport in plants. While it is a major component of wood, its biochemical structure makes high-lignin timber very difficult and expensive to process. Moreover, processing lignin produces significant amounts of waste that must be disposed of carefully to avoid damaging the environment.
One research theme trialled for reducing lignin content in wood using plant biotechnology has been the downregulation of genes involved in lignification, but several studies have shown that these modifications typically come with trade-offs, such as reduced tree growth, increased susceptibility to stress, and decreased structural support.
A more promising approach that strikes the balance between reducing the lignin content of wood to facilitate easier processing – without compromising other silvicultural characteristics of bioengineered trees – is the introduction of genes that make it easier for lignin to be broken down. For example, researchers transformed poplar hybrids with a gene from Angelica sinensis that encodes coniferyl ferulate feruloyl-CoA monolignol transferase. This modification introduced ester bonds into the lignin backbone, making it easier to be broken down during processing compared to wildtype trees.
Improving drought resistance
Climate change means that droughts are becoming a more common occurrence across the world. Most plant species have adaptations to withstand short periods of water stress, but the significant water demands of trees mean that droughts present a more potent threat to the survival of trees compared to most other types of plants.
Various strategies have been successfully employed to increase drought tolerance of trees, such as reducing stomatal conductance to improve water retention, modifying root system architecture to increase water uptake, and modulating the expression of genes involved in water stress-induced signalling pathways. A key question for the sector is whether tree biotechnology will follow the approach taken in agricultural crop improvement programmes by using genetic engineering to ‘stack’ multiple drought-resistance traits within a single variety.
How J A Kemp can help
For businesses and researchers pioneering advancements in tree and crop improvement, robust IP strategies are key to maximising innovation, investment, and impact. However, patenting plant biotechnology inventions presents challenges, as discussed in detail in our Technical Briefing on Patenting Plants in Europe and the UK. We have several experts working in this area and are uniquely placed to advise on overcoming these challenges.
Our plant biotechnology insight series
In a series of Insights, J A Kemp’s Plant and Crop Science team is exploring how plant biotechnology can drive progress towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) – a global framework aimed at creating a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
J A Kemp LLP acts for clients in the USA, Europe and globally, advising on UK and European patent practice and representing them before the European Patent Office, UKIPO and Unified Patent Court. We have in-depth expertise in a wide range of technologies, including Biotech and Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals, Software and IT, Chemistry, Electronics and Engineering and many others. See our website to find out more.
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