EFFORT TO CLONE BRISTLECONE PINE FAILS

EFFORT TO CLONE BRISTLECONE PINE FAILS
February 6, 2003
Los Angeles Times
Lee Romney
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-clone6feb06,1,4697892.story?coll=la%
2Dheadlines%2Dtechnology
Hopes of replicating the 4,768-year-old Methuselah live on, however, in the
seedlings growing from its cones.
A nonprofit tree cloning organization has failed to create an exact genetic
replica of the oldest known tree on Earth -- a bristlecone pine dubbed
Methuselah that clings to arid soil in California's White Mountains. But the
group managed to coax a crop of seedlings from the ancient tree's cones in
what the group's co-founder calls a partial victory. Because the 2-inch
sprouts grew from seeds, they also contain genetic material of another
parent tree.
The Michigan-based Champion Tree Project International was granted special
permission in October to clip cuttings, needles and cones from the
4,768-year-old Methuselah. In a stealth procedure, a U.S. Forest Service
manager led the team to the tree, whose precise location is carefully
guarded to avert vandalism. Seeds of the ancient pine have been germinated
in previous experiments, although it's unclear what became of the trees,
said John Louth, forest manager of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Cloning the tree by getting the cuttings to root would have been a first,
but those efforts failed, said David Milarch, the tree group's co-founder.
Still, the seedlings are a start, said Milarch, who hopes to take another
stab at cloning the tree from cuttings, but earlier in the season. The group
also hopes to graft cuttings from Methuselah onto the seedlings at a later
date, creating a genetic twin on top of the offspring's roots.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE WOODYPLANTS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index