SBIR Phase II: Genetic improvement of loblolly pine for increased wood density and improved wood quality

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to engineer loblolly pine to increase wood density (yield) by 20% with no additional land, water, or fertilizer use requirements. With global demand for wood products expected to rise 60% by 2060, managed pine plantations will play a key role in helping to meet this need. By identifying and studying the genes that control plant development, particularly as they relate to cellulose (wood) production in the cell wall, the tree's natural ability to capture and utilize carbon dioxide (CO2) for more wood growth has been enhanced through genetic engineering. This technology will strengthen the United States' position as the leading producer and exporter of commercial wood products, i.e., pulpwood for paper, sawtimber for lumber, and wood pellets for fuel. Additionally, with advancements in the understanding of the pine genome, the work proposed here will stimulate the development of novel innovations in the field of forest genetics while the proposed genetically engineered seedlings help to address growing industry needs for commercial wood products. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a more efficient approach to engineering high wood density loblolly pine varieties. In contrast to traditional breeding, which has seen a modest 6% increase in wood density improvements over the past 20 years, this work proposes to increase wood density in pine by 20% through application of a directed, "gene trait" method to genetically engineer loblolly pine by altering secondary cell wall gene regulation. The proposed research will utilize a newly improved pine transformation protocol to scale up prototype production of tree seedlings designed with patent-pending, cell wall gene platform technologies. Also, this work establishes a pine engineering pipeline using germplasm adapted to different selective environments. This will streamline the production process while allowing for faster testing and development of technologies that improve growth traits in multiple growing regions. Specifically, plants engineered with this method will be tested for their long-term wood quality characteristics in both greenhouse and field trials. The goal of this project is to establish a commercial scale production program for loblolly pine engineered seedlings, and prepare for field testing and ultimately commercial sales of the cell wall platform technologies that have been developed. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.