Overview
- Peer-reviewed research in Science finds genetic tests can flag seedlings likely to resist blight and grow tall, accelerating breeding cycles.
- Researchers built chromosome-scale genomes and identified many regions linked to key traits, enabling selection that retains roughly 70%–85% American chestnut ancestry.
- Early DNA screening lets breeders choose superior offspring years before field performance would reveal those traits, shortening generation gaps.
- The study outlines recurrent selection and multigenerational intercrossing to merge American chestnut form with Chinese chestnut disease resistance for competitive forest trees.
- An accompanying perspective raises gene editing as a potentially quicker route despite regulatory and social barriers, while experts debate species identity and warn against bottlenecks from relying only on surviving natives.