Emily Chan
This information can guide the conservation of diversity from the three regions of the Appalachian Mountain range established in the study, as well as help the foundation restore blight-resistant chestnut trees based on their regions and genomes.
“We learned that the American Chestnut Foundation has more work to do to conserve trees from the southernmost American population, which is especially important to conserve because it is the most genetically diverse, and it is likely to be the best adapted to the warmer climates of the future,” Jared Westbrook, a co-author of the study and the director of science for the American Chestnut Foundation, said.
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
