The invasive emerald ash borer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was first found in the United States in southeast Michigan in 2002. In the decades since, the wood-boring beetle has spread east and west across the U.S. and Canada, killing tens of millions of ash trees, causing one of the costliest forest insect invasions to date.
More than 90% of all ash infested by the insect native to Asia eventually die, threatening to make the tree species functionally extinct in North America. In response, researchers are working to identify and develop ash trees genetically able to withstand the beetles' onslaught and strategize how to restore ash to forests.
Estimates of the genomic change required to adjust to future climate projections, known as genomic offset, were greatest in the northeastern and lowest in the southern portions of the species' range, according to the researchers. These findings, they explained, suggests that the regional distribution of genomic variation may be critical to the trees' long-term survival.
To develop breeding programs that will produce climate-resilient, emerald ash borer-resistant trees, it will be necessary to prioritize conservation of range-wide genomic diversity, Hamilton pointed out. Contributing to the research were Trevor Faske, Southwest Biological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona; Richard Sniezko, Dorena Genetic Resource Center, U.S. Forest Service, Cottage Grove, Oregon; Tim Thibault, The Huntington, San Marino, California; Wyatt Williams, Forests Resources Division, Oregon Department of Forestry; and Thomas Parchman, Department of Biology, University of Nevada Reno.
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