Houghton, Michigan – Winter takes its toll on living things. To protect themselves from the elements, bears hibernate, and trees go dormant. Biologists have observed what happens when trees become dormant, but up to now, they haven’t understood the underlying genetic mechanisms that enable them to start growing again.
Led by molecular geneticists from Michigan Technological University a gene has been identified and characterized that tells a poplar tree when winter ends and a spring growing season begins. Victor Busov, a professor in Michigan Tech’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science; Yordan S. Yordanov, a research assistant professor at Michigan Tech; in collaboration with Cathleen Ma and Steven Strauss from Oregon State’s Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, published their findings online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week.
They’ve named the gene—fittingly—“Early Bud-Break 1,” since it helps awaken the plant cells responsible for growth from their winter ‘sleep’.
Using techniques of molecular genetics and genomics, the researchers modified the EBB1 gene to see what would happen when it is experimentally dialed up and down. They found that up-regulation of the gene accelerates new growth or bud-burst, while down-regulation of EBB1 delays bud-break, the name for the beginning of new growth. They also discovered that EBB1 is virtually undetectable while the tree is dormant but makes a dramatic reappearance just prior to and during bud-break.
Busov says the time of the new growth after dormancy is environmentally and economically important, and its importance will grow as climate change escalates. “It is foreseeable that in the near future, forest and fruit trees may need our help to cope with climate change,” he said. “The discovery of this gene is a small step in that direction.”
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